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ESSAYS 



ON 

MORAL AND RELIGIOUS 



SUBJECTS 



BY DANIEL COPSEY. 



*' Moral and religious instruction derives its efficacy, 
not so much from what men ?ire taught to know, as from 
what they are brought to feel." 



PUBLISHED BY L. B. SEELEY, 
IN FLEET STREET. 

1821. 




PRINTED BY M. SMITH, BRAINTREE. 



TO 

%ty Me &&&ocate 

OF 

PRACTICAL PIETY," AND OF "CHRISTIAN MORALS,' 
THIS 

ON MORAL AND RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS, 
IS INSCRIBED, 

(BY PERMISSION,) 
AS 

A SINCERE TRIBUTE OF GRATEFUL ESTEEM, 

BY HER MOST OBLIGED 

AND OBEDIENT SERVANT, 

THE AUTHOR. 



It will be allowed by all, that the subjects dis- 
cussed in the present volume, are very important. A 
writer on religious topics has this advantage, that the 
sacred nature of his theme, and the reverence with 
which it is regarded by his readers, tend to soften the 
asperities of criticism, and so far to identify the writer 
with his subject, as to procure him a certain degree of 
merit for his attempt, although he may not have distin- 
guished himself in the performance. If he do not gain 
applause, he is at least in a great measure sheltered 
from contempt. 

The weak are most exposed to censure, when they 
attempt any display to which strength is indispensable; 
but they obtain regard as well as protection, when they 
cling to a noble support. The ivy that twines around 
the oak, derives some consequence from its situation, 
and from the character of the tree on which it finds 
eminence and defence ; for the blow which strikes the 
one ; wounds also the other. 



viii. 



PREFACE. 



The subjects treated on in the following pages, are 
not such as require so much the aid of novelty, to se- 
cure them a portion of attention, as of earnestness and 
sincerity in enforcing their importance* Although re- 
ligion is one of the noblest principles of our nature, 
yet there is nothing in which our welfare is involved, 
that requires to be so often brought before our notice, 
and urged on our attention. He succeeds best in the 
attempt to attract this notice, and to obtain this attention, 
w ho embodies his ideas in the most impressive language, 
and arranges his thoughts in the most striking point of 
view ; and not he who endeavours to say some new thing. 
It is not pretended that these points have been gained 
in the subsequent Essays, but the efforts of the writer 
have been directed towards their attainment ; and " al- 
though it be but little that is attained, the very aim is 
right, and something there is that is done by it.* A 
feeble agent may become the instrument of effecting 
much good ; because in the case of all works of a re- 
ligious nature, the quantum of benefit produced by 
them, depends more on the state of the reader's mind, 
than on the ablest efforts of the writer* 

In the Essay on the Holy Scriptures, that internal 
evidence is chiefly insisted on, which consists in a won- 
derful adaptation of their contents to the condition of 
man. This kind of evidence is underrated by some, 
who think that the historical proofs which may be ad- 
duced of the Divine origin of the Bible, are so strong 



PREFACE. 



ix. 



and so numerous, that they should be discussed almost 
exclusively, and insisted on as completely satisfactory 
to every sincere inquirer after truth. In those works, 
in which the existence and attributes of the Deity are 
proved from his works, no small stress is laid on the ex- 
act adaptation of all animals to the elements in which 
they live, and the agreement between the structure of 
all their parts, and their various habits and instincts. 
This conformity could not have been produced without 
design, nor could it have been effected by any other 
than an Omnipotent and All- wise Agent. Why should 
not the same kind of argument be both legitimate and 
powerful, when applied to the grand doctrines of Re- 
velation ? While it is calculated to convince the gain- 
sayer, it has also an evident tendency to give additional 
satisfaction to the mind of a believer. 

The rapid spread of Socinianism, and the activity of 
its advocates, will be a sufficient reason for the attempt, 
in the Essay on the Deity of Christ, to " contend for 
the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," how 
weak soever that attempt may prove. 

In offering some remarks on the Public Worship 
of God, the main design of the writer has been to en- 
force spirituality of mind, in the discharge of that so* 
lemn duty. But in doing this, he has been led to make 
some observations on the discipline maintained, in sev- 
eral communities of christians. He trusts that what he 

b 



X. 



PREFACE. 



has stated on this head, will be received with candour. 
He has not written as an enemy, but as a friend • and 
as it is presumed that no society lays claim to infalli- 
bility, some improvement may be derived from the sug- 
gestions of one who renounces all intention of legislating, 
while he requests a calm consideration of what he has 
advanced. 

Of the duty and nature of Prayer, we cannot be 
too often reminded, prone as we are either to neglect it, 
or to become mere formalists in the observance of this 
sacred service. No other apology is requisite, for the 
endeavour which the author has made to urge to dili- 
gence and spiritual-mindedness, in the performance of 
this duty. 

The vice of Covetousness, to which so many are 
exposed in a flourishing and wealthy nation, and which 
is often so secret in its operations, as not to be easily de- 
tected, seems to call for repeated efforts to strip off its 
mask, and expose its influence. How far the Essay on 
this subject has succeeded in accomplishing these ob- 
jects, must be left to the judicious reader. 

Some of the many deceits of the human heart, are 
attempted to be laid open in the Essay on Self-Know- 
ledge, which, it is hoped, will not be perused without 
some advantage to the reader. — "Know Thyself" is 
confessedly the hardest lesson in ethics ; and therefore 
the student in so important a branch of moral science^ 



PREFACE. 



xi. 



should have every assistance that can be afforded ; " line 
upon line, and precept upon precept," far from being 
tedious and unnecessary, will only tend to promote his 
advancement. 

Let it not be objected to any partof the following work 
that it is not sufficiently sectarian, — that no attempt is 
made to extol one religious party, at the expense of 
another, and that what the author conceives to be the 
right side of any question, is honestly [stated, without 
regard to the party who chances to claim it. The best 
way to oppose error, is to maintain truth. If this 
excellent maxim were more generally acted upon, we 
should hear less railing in matters of religion, and it 
would not be esteemed necessary to the prosperity of 
any religious society, to prove others wrong, so much 
as to show that themselves were in the right. But ma- 
ny persons seem to think, that whenever they make 
mention of any other religious denomination, they are 
bound in justice to their own party, to affix to it some 
stigma, on account of what they deem erroneous senti- 
ments, or to cast a sneer at some of its supposed super- 
stitious practices ; and that the best way to manifest 
their own attachment to any peculiar doctrines or disci- 
pline, is to discover open hostility against all who dif- 
fer from them. To those who cannot speak of other 
sects without pronouncing a harsh judgment upon them, 
or at least expressing a pretended charitable (but really 
bigoted) concern for the future safety of their souls 3 the 



PREFACE. 



writer begs leave to recommend a careful consideration 
of the following very appropriate address ; " Hast thou 
no regard to the commandment of thy Lord ? Or has 
he given a more express commandment than this; 
" Judge not, that ye be not judged; for with what judg- 
ment ye judge, ye shall be judged ; and with what mea- 
sure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Does 
not he, on whom thou darest to sit in judgment, profess 
to be a disciple of Jesus as well as thou ? Whether he 
be really so or not, is another's affair, and not thine. 
In every view this practice is condemned. — It is fraught 
with danger to yourselves, with injury to your neigh- 
bour, and with impiety to your Lord. What shall we 
say of those, who differ from us in important articles ? 
What shall we say, but — that in our judgment they err, 
not knowing the Scriptures! What more should we 
say \ It belongs to the Omniscient Searcher of hearts, 
and to Him only, to say whether their error, if they be 
in an error, proceeds from depravity of disposition, or 
from causes in which the will has no share. Is it for us 
to determine how much wood, hay, and stubble, may 
be reared upon the only foundation Jesus Christ; though 
the foreign materials, by the Apostle's account, will be 
consumed in the fiery trial they must undergo, yet the 
builder himself will be saved ? We are ever, like Peter, 
turning aside from the point in hand, (which is what 
immediately concerns ourselves,) and, by a curiosity, 
much less justifiable than his, inquiring what will be- 



PREFACE. 



xiii. 



come of this man. When such a question arises in thy 
mind, O my fellow Christian, think thou nearest the 
voice of thy Divine Master, checking thy impertinence 
in the words addressed to the Apostle, — (i What is that 
to thee? Follow thou me !" (Campbell's Sermons.) 




i 

ESSAY I. 

On the Holy Scriptures - - - page 1 
ESSAY II. 

On the Deity of Christ 70 
ESSAY III. 

On Public Worship - - - ~ > — 118 
JES&4Y /F. 

On Prayer - -- -- -- -- 165 

ESSAY V. 

On Covet ousness - -- -- - — 189 



ESSAY VI. 

On Self-Knowledge - ~ 212 



ESSAY I. 



OJV THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

Religion has its foundation in the nature 
of man. A form of religion of some kind or other, ob- 
tains throughout the world. The necessity of it is thus 
universally acknowledged ; while the nature of the 
various eligions which are professed, is as varied and 
opposite as the complexions of men, or the climates of 
the globe. 

While man enjoyed the innocence and bliss of Pa- 
radise, he held immediate intercourse with heaven. God 
came down to man, and communicated to him the 
knowledge of his will. Man was constituted lord of 
the creation, and was established in all the rights of that 
empire by the express command of God. His autho- 
rity was delegated to him immediately from heaven ; 
but as soon as sin entered into the world, the " presence 
of the Lord God " could no longer be endured by guilty 
man. The communion between heaven and earth was 
suspended, and another mode of communication be- 
came necessary. This is supplied in the written reve- 
lation of the mind and will of God, which we call the 
Bible. 

Man is a sinner, and has in consequence forfeited all 
means of ascertaining the will of God ; therefore all the 
knowledge of divine things which can be imparted to 
him, must be "given by inspiration of God." And 
this necessity of a divine commuicatiou is acknow- 
ledged in every religious system that ever existed in the 

B 



2 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



world. The universal consent of mankind proves this 
necessity. There never was a form of religious wor- 
ship in the world which was not professedly founded 
either on an immediate communication from heaven, or 
on the interpretation of a revelation formerly given. 

The forebodings of man's mind, impressed on his 
soul by God, the force of his reason given him also by 
God, may lead him to some faint hope of another life ; 
but without a revelation from God he can neither serve 
him aright, nor can he ever attain to a knowledge of 
the resurrection from the dead. That his existence here 
may terminate in another state of being, and that his 
actions here may, in some sort, have an influence on the 
happiness and misery of that state of being, is the ex- 
tent of knowledge to which unassisted reason can at- 
tain. Indeed it may be questioned whether this partial 
knowledge, to which some of the heathen attained, was 
ever acquired by any one of the human race by the 
mere strength of the mind, but is rather a conclusion 
derived from tradition, and that tradition derived ori- 
ginally from a revelation from God. 

The three great lights to direct man through the 
world are reason, conscience, and revelation. By the 
aid of the first he may attain to the knowledge of the ex- 
istence of a God, and of his attributes of goodness, and 
wisdom and power. Conscience will not fail to ad- 
monish him, and to accuse him when he deviates from 
rectitude, and to approve when he acts virtuously. But 
witout revelation he can never know how God is to be 
worshipped, nor what end is to be answered by his cre- 
ation, nor what consequences are to ensue upon his death. 

Natural religion, as it is termed, is indebted to reve- 
lation ; and without it, will always degenerate into the 
wild and extravagant excesses and cruelties of super- 
stition. We know to what absurdities natural religion 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 3 

conducted the Greeks and Romans, and other nations, 
who never enjoyed the advantage of revelation. Man 
needs a guide in this matter to direct his religious prin- 
ciple, and to afford him satisfaction in the observance 
of religious duties, which cannot result from any ob- 
servances which man has invented. There is alway§ 
an uncertainty and fear attached to the strictest ob- 
servance of the whole ceremonial of heathen worship ; 
and certainty and satisfaction can alone be found in the 
assurance of having an authentic communication from 
God, and in living agreeably to that communication. 

Laying aside the Divine authority of the Bible, and 
regarding it merely as a faithful history of facts ; — (and 
in this respect it is as well authenticated as any received 
history, for it narrates in the first part the origin and 
progress of a people who still preserve its records with 
religious veneration ; and the second part relates to the 
establishment, and explains the doctrines of a religious 
system, which is still extant and flourishing ; ) take the 
Bible then, merely as a history of facts, and it informs 
us of a religion built upon a revelation from God ; 
every circumstance of its foundation, and the forms of 
its worship are declared to be according to Divine com- 
mand. In the Old Testament we find the whole fabric 
of the religious system resting on the alleged authority 
of an immediate revelation from God to Moses. And 
the New Testament is a system of doctrines and precepts 
founded on the personal instructions of the Son of God. 

What were the widely extended superstitions of the 
Greeks and Romans, but a professed revelation from their 
gods. Pretending to a written message from their Olym- 
pus, they preserved the Sibylline oracles with religious 
care, and undertook nothing of moment, either in peace 
or war, without previously consulting these writings. 
Whether these oracles were merely a device of the 



4 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



rulers to keep the people in awe, and to accomplish 
more easily their various measures, or whether the rulers 
and priests really believed them to be communications 
from heaven, does not affect the present argument ; for 
in either case the matter rests on the same basis, namely, 
the necessity and supposed probability of a revelation 
from God. 

They professed, besides, to have frequent personal 
manifestations of their deities, who informed them by 
oral communications, of things relating to their wor- 
ship, and other particulars. 

Mohammed produced his Alcoran as the voucher for 
the form of religion which he designed to establish ; 
and to the present day this book is appealed to by his 
followers, as possessing divine authority. 

The superstitions now prevalent in the East, and 
which sway the minds of so many millions of the human 
race, are built also on a supposed discovery of the will 
of their deities. Their gods have also appeared to 
them in different forms ; and they have besides, their 
Shaster, or code of sacred instructions. And the wor- 
ship of the most savage and ignorant nations on the 
earth is maintained upon the supposition that the will 
of their fictitious gods has been made known to them, 
or that by sacrifices and other rites they may obtain 
information concerning that will. All these things are 
a tacit confession of the ignorance of man, and the ne- 
cessity of a divine revelation. 

The conflicting nature of the various systems which 
we have briefly noticed, renders it impossible that each 
could have the divine will for its basis. God is one ; 
and the divine government is uniform and consistent ; 
and there must be unity and beauty in every thing 
that proceeds from Him : therefore revelations pro- 
fessed to be made to various nations at different ages of 



ON THE HOLY SCllIPTliRES. 



5 



the world, and directly opposing each other in the 
precepts which they enjoin, and the doctrines which 
they inculcate, do not bear on them the primary cha- 
racter of a revelation from the One Supreme Being. If 
any one of them be true, all the others must be false. 
And if we judge of them all by their comparative, 
intrinsic merits, we shall without hesitation pronounce 
the Bible to be what it lays claim to be, the Word of 
God; The Word to the exclusion of all other docu- 
ments which are competitors for the same rank and 
character. 

It is not intended here to enter upon a minute inquiry 
into the comparative merits of those various writings 
which are averred by their different advocates to be 
authentic communications from heaven, but to state the 
claims which the Bible possesses to be regarded by us 
as a message from God, and to point out the manner in 
which it should be received, and the advantages result- 
ing from the study of its sacred pages. 

We may, however, just observe, that if set in com- 
petition with other records pretending to be sacred, 
it excels them all as much as light excels darkness, 
as much as truth excels error. Indeed, the Bible de- 
rives a confirmation from the fact that in very many 
parts of these false and pretended revelations there 
may be perceived a distorted account of the truths 
related in the scriptures. And some of the an- 
tient writers have boasted that their information 
on many mysterious subjects was derived from the 
priests of the true God.* And we know that the 
Greeks drew the origin of most of their fables from the 

* " Sanchoniathon wrote his annals before the Trojan war, 
and boasts to have received what he says concerning the 
Creation from a priest of the Most High, named Jerombal." 

Abbe Banier. 



6 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



traditions preserved among the priests and learned men 
in Egypt. The Egyptian traditions were preserved in 
hieroglyphical records ; and the Grecians having re- 
ceived from them, allegorical descriptions of the origin 
of things, and of the various important events in the 
history of the world, all derived from the authentic 
history of Moses, explained these figurative accounts 
according to their own fancies, making their own coun- 
try the scene of every event. Thus what was true in 
the Egyptian traditions, but hidden and rendered ob- 
scure by their form of recording and preserving it, was 
so distorted and misrepresented when adopted by the 
Greeks, as to retain but a faint resemblance to its first 
origin. Nevertheless, some glimmerings of the true 
light are visible under the mass of fiction with which 
some of the antient heathen shrouded the truth. 

If we contrast the dignity of the style in which the 
Bible is written, the uniform consistency of all its parts, 
the sanctity of its precepts, the love which it breathes, 
its mild and benevolent laws, the philanthropy which it 
enforces, the character which it reveals of God, the 
rational appeals which it makes to our judgment, the 
ground which it offers to our faith, the prospects which 
it displays to oar hope, the promises by which it ani- 
mates our drooping spirits, the threats by which it 
enforces our obedience, and the terrors by which it 
operates on our fears, — if we contrast the Bible in all 
its various bearings, with the folly and childish super- 
stitions of other religious systems, with their ridiculous 
fables, their impious relations, their obscene, and profli- 
gate, and jarring divinities, their monstrous extrava- 
gances, their sensual paradises, and the fierce, and 
cruel, and revengeful nature of their dogmas, and the 
intolerant spirit* of their constitution and their pre- 

* For we are not speaking of the conduct of men, or the 
interpretation they may put on the documents on which they 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



7 



cepts, — we shall be constrained to say that the Bible 
was "given by inspiration of God." 

w All Scripture is given by inspiration of God 
therefore nothing is to be received as such which does 
not bear the impress of inspiration; and we shall now 
consider what evidences may be adduced of the Divine 
authority of the Bible, and these we may divide into 
external and internal evidences. 

The external evidences of the truth of the Bible, are 
its antiquity ; the continuance of its subject by a suc- 
cession of inspired men, till the grand purpose of God 
was accomplished in the coming of Christ; the vene- 
ration in which it has ever been held ; and the accom- 
plishment of many predictions which are recorded in 
its pages. 

The first five books of the Bible were written by 
Closes, who was born about 1570 B. C, and the account 
of the people whose history he chiefly related, is con- 
tinued in an unbroken narration as long as they remained 
a people who were reckoned among the nations. The 
canon of Scripture is an unbroken series of events, 
predictions, and precepts. God left not himself without 
a witness, till the completion of Sacred Writ called 
forth a denunciation of Divine vengeance on any who 
should " add unto," or " take away from the words of 
the book of this prophecy." 

The Jews, the most antient people in the world, 
have ever venerated this book, that is, the Old Testament; 
they have preserved with reverence and with jealous care, 
these very records which testify against themselves, 
which relate their rebellions, ingratitude, and impiety ; 
and they acknowledge as divine, those predictions which 

rest their faith, but of the principle and nature of those 
documents. 



8 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



have been strikingly accomplished in their varied history, 
and which are now verified in their present abject state ; 
and those also which, while they point to a Messiah 
who has already appeared, condemn their blindness 
and wilfulness in rejecting him. 

The Old Testament is the standard of appeal among 
the Jews ; and both Testaments are received by Christ- 
ians. And it maybe observed that a corroborating tes- 
timony is given to the authenticity of the New Testa- 
ment, inasmuch as it narrates the life, ministry, and 
death of a personage whom the Jews acknowledge to 
have appeared among them as a claimant of the dig- 
nity of the Messiah, but whom they hated, and per- 
secuted even unto death. 

The internal evidences of the truth of the Bible are, 
the accordance of all its parts, — the revelation it gives 
us of God, — the correspondence between what it relates 
of man in his origin and abasement, and what we now 
feel in ourselves, and see in the world, — the wonderful 
suitableness of its doctrines and promises to the judg- 
ment, faith, and hope, and the inward experience of all 
good men, — and the congruity of the prospects which 
it unfolds, and the threatenings which it denounces, 
with the constitution of man's nature, the forebodings 
of his mind, and the terrors and dictates of his con- 
science ; further, the nature and design of the miracles 
which it records, — the mildness of its laws, — the sanctity 
and the beneficial tendency of its precepts, — and the 
benevolent spirit which it inculcates on man. 

The consistency of the Bible will be very apparent 
to every careful and impartial reader. A lthough the 
Holy Scriptures were written at different periods, so 
that many ages intervene between the composition of the 
early books of the Old Testament, and the later writings 
of the Evangelists and Apostles in the New, and con- 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 9 



sequently most of the writers could not have had any 
communication with each other, yet there is a wonderful 
harmony and agreement in all its statements, whether 
we consider them as relating to the character of the 
Deity, or the moral government of mankind by God. 
The greatness, and majesty, and mercy, and holiness 
of God are uniformly represented in every work ascribed 
to him, and in every denunciation and promise recorded 
as having proceeded from him. The accounts given of 
the sin and misery of the human race, are met by the 
discoveries which are made of the method of redemption, 
and restoration to the favour of heaven, and exaltation 
to endless happiness and glory. The prophecies re- 
corded in one part, are verified by exact accomplishment 
related in other parts : and we see many of its predictions 
accomplished every day before us in the present state 
of the world, and of religion, and particularly in the 
condition of the Jews. The correspondence between 
the types and antitypes in the two Testaments, is also 
surprisingly minute and true. Many of these were 
pointed out by Christ himself ; others were noticed by 
his apostles ; and a great number may be explained by 
us in consequence of our possessing a circumstantial 
account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. 

The goodness, and power, and wisdom of God are 
most conspicuous in the works of his hands, and the 
Bible bears a correspondent testimony to these perfections 
in all that it reveals to us concerning the Most High. 
Nothing can be found in its pages derogatory to the 
character of the Deity : in all that is stated of his works, 
■words, providential administration, miraculous inter- 
ference, everlasting purposes and counsel, in fine, in 
all the operations of God, every thing is consistent 
with the exalted glory, and infinite purity of the God- 
head. The majesty of the Deity is never lessened by 

c 



10 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



any representation which the Bible gives respecting his 
infinite perfections. The inflexible justice and unspotted 
purity of the Supreme Being are asserted with unde- 
rrating constancy ; and at the same time in perfect con- 
sistency with the statements which are exhibited of the 
Divine mercy, long-suffering, and abundant goodness; 
so that there is most visibly an unbroken harmony main- 
tained in all the Divine attributes. The just and mer- 
ciful, the holy and forgiving, the infinitely exalted and 
condescending, the jealous and gracious God is dis- 
played to our view, exciting in our minds godly fear 
and humble hope, profound adoration and holy boldness, 
reverential awe and animating expectation, solemn fear 
and confidential trust. 

We are commanded to "fear this glorious and fearful 
name, The Lord Thy God;" and are exhorted to 
" trust in Him at all times." " Thou art of purer eyes 
than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity;" 
" Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, 
and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his 
heritage ? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because 
he delighteth in mercy." "O God, thou art terrible 
out of thy holy places : — The God of Israel is he that 
giveth strength and power unto his people." " God is 
greatly to be feared in the assembly of his saints, and 
to be had in reverence of all them that are about him ;" 
" Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of 
grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to 
help in time of need." — "Who shall not fear thee, O 
Lord," is demanded in reference to the majesty and 
justice of God; again, " Rejoice in the Lord alway." 
—"Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth 
on high ? Who humbleth himself to behold the things 
that are in heaven, and in the earth ? He raiseth up 
the fjoor out of the du*t." " Though the Lord be high, 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



II 



yet hath he respect unto the lowly."— Thus saith the 
High and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name 
is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place ; with him 
also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." — " I, the 
Lord thy God am a jealous God "Thou, O Lord, 
art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffer- 
ing, and plenteous in mercy and truth. 

Further, — There is a striking conformity between the 
accounts which the Bible gives us of man in his original 
state, and his abasement, and what we feel in ourselves, 
and our daily observation on what passes around us. 
This is a great proof of the Divine origin of the Scrip- 
tures. For, whether we regard the doctrines and pre- 
cepts there enforced, they are all adapted to the con- 
dition of man, and, in all his relative obligations, are 
calculated to promote his true happiness and welfare ; 
or whether we consider the history of the depravity of 
human nature, or the conduct of men in various circum- 
stances, there narrated, or his motives and secret prin- 
ciples, there exposed, they all bear as exact a cor- 
respondence to the state of man, and of the world at the 
present day, as they could have done when they were 
first promulgated. It would require a greater degree 
of acquaintance with human nature than can be acquired 
by any man in his brief limit of fourscore years, to be 
able to compose a religious code, or compile or invent a 
religious system which should be applicable in all its 
bearings to the condition of man in every age of the 
world. There is something in the mind belonging to 
the very nature of man, which corresponds with the 
statements of the Scriptures ; or, let it be stated thus, 
the Scriptures contain statements which are suited to the 
feelings of which every human mind is conscious: let 
the position be put either way, the testimony to the 
truth of the Scriptures is the same. These feelings 



12 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



could not then have been excited or produced in the 
mind by the reading of the Scriptures, for they were 
found in the heart before the Scriptures were read ; and 
they exist where the Scriptures are altogether unknown. 
And if it be said that the Scriptures were written to 
suit the prevailing feelings of the human mind, this is 
what is affirmed by the advocates for the truth of the 
Bible ; therefore the Bible must have been written by 
inspired men, and by good men. 

The dreadful effects of the fall of man are fully stated 
in Scripture, both with respect to its influence on the 
actual state of man in this life, and its consequences in 
the next state of being ; and if we compare these state- 
ments with what we feel and observe in the present, and 
what we apprehend in the future life, we shall find that 
both tend to corroborate the statements of the Bible : and 
indeed, without the explanation and information which 
the Bible gives on these points, what we see and feel of 
our own state and condition, would be an inexplicable 
puzzle to us. 

If man had not been created "upright," he would 
not feel those checks of natural conscience which re- 
mind him of a departure from his original high con- 
dition. The soul resents, to a certain degree, every 
injury which is inflicted by a deviation from rectitude. 
Having been at first created in the likeness of God, 
every tendency to evil is felt as a deformity. — Death is 
declared in Scripture to be the hideous offspring of sin, 
and not a law of nature, not a condition under which 
man was at first formed. Man, possessing a deathless 
principle in his soul, was also in his origin immortal as 
to his body. Immortality was once his boon ; death is 
now his punishment. Unmingled joy was once his 
possession, sorrow and woe are now bis inheritance. — 
And who does not recoil from dissolution? Is not 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



13 



death the universal dread of nature ? Is it not regarded 
by all men as an infliction, and not as a necessary con- 
sequence of our inferior nature ? If death were the law 
of our being, in the same sense as sleep is, men would 
descend to the grave with the same composure as they 
retire to their nightly repose. — The Bible declares the 
soul of man to be deathless ; and are not those " long- 
ings after immortality," and that universal foreboding 
of a future state, which reign in the breasts of all, a 
pledge of our possessing an immortal soul ? 

" Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," 
is a sentence of which we never doubt the execution, — 
we know that death passes upon all men ; and the hum- 
bling declaration concerning the depravity of man, that 
" every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, is only 
evil continually," is as true, though not as readily ac- 
knowledged by all. The predominant sin of man is 
pride ; this was at the root of his first apostacy, and as 
it then led him to covet an equality with God, so it now 
prompts him to deny the extent of his debasement. 
But the whole course of the world, from the first blood 
shed by violence in the family of Adam, down to the 
acts of cruelty and injustice which are recorded in the 
chronicle of every successive day, goes to establish the 
scriptural doctrine of the fall of man. God cannot be 
the author of evil ; what comes forth from his hands 
must be "very good:" man, the chief work of God, 
is "dead in trespasses and in sins," and must therefore 
have fallen from a perfect state. His most early actions, 
the continued progress of his conduct, show that his 
mind is warped by an evil bias. That " the imagination 
of man's heart is evil from his youth," is abundantly 
confirmed by the evidences of a perverse spirit which 
infants betray, even before they can give utterance to 
the evil passions of their hearts in the language of sin. 



14 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



The debasement of man is declared to be extreme, and 
his alienation from God, that which he can never retrace 
by his own power and might ; an almighty arm is as- 
serted to be necessary to recover him from his state of 
degradation, and to restore him to the image and favour 
of God. Human nature since the fall, is like a temple 
in ruins. Enough is left to inform us that the whole 
was majesty and beauty. We see the disjointed and 
broken materials of a once glorious and splendid edifice, 
which the Divine Architect alone, who planned and 
erected the original structure, can rebuild, and restore 
to its pristine magnificence. And this he hath done 
in the mediatorial work of Christ, "in whom all the 
building fitly framed together, groweth unto a holy 
temple in the Lord." 

And as to the extreme debasement of man, let the 
anguish of the thousand deaths of war, the mutilated 
bodies and crushed limbs, the deep wounds, the blood 
and carnage of all the battles which infatuated men 
have waged with each other through the successive ages 
of the world, — let the cries of pain and woe, heard 
within the walls of hospitals, lazarettoes, and sick 
rooms, — let the languor of body, the sickness of heart, 
the terror of spirit, endured by all the children of 
affliction,— let the shrieks of agony wrung from the un- 
happy victims of rage, and cruel superstition, and 
blood-crested bigotry, — let the racks, the whips, the 
engines of torture, employed by wicked man against 
his brother, — let the midnight murders, the secret as- 
sassinations, the foul deeds of darkness, which none 
but the all-seeing eye of the Eternal have witnessed, 
and which will remain concealed till that day when 
" the earth shall disclose her blood, a nd shall no more 
cover her slain," — let the victims to raging flames, and 
foaming billows, to pestilential air, to scorching suns, 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



15 



to famine, to deserts, to beasts of prey, — but the black 
catalogue is already too extended, and yet the one half, 
the one-thousandth part has not been told, for no mor- 
tal pen can note each case in the vast tablet of wretch- 
edness, no mortal tongue can name the mighty total, — 
let all this sum of woe bear its concurring testimony 
that man is a fallen, a depraved creature. 

And shall we confine our review of the "wages of 
sin," to the evils which affect the body, as they are ex- 
hibited in the present state ? We must : An impene- 
trable veil hides from our view the abodes of lost spirits. 
The weeping and wailing, the doleful lamentations of 
the gulf of despair, reach not our mortal ears ! Who 
can tell what fearful visions death discloses to the im- 
penitent sinner ! Who can tell the horror of the regions 
where dwells the "blackness of darkness forever!" — 
The dread which the guilty mind of man feels lest he 
should fall into this unseen misery, is a proof of his 
depravity, because it is a tacit confession of his sin, an 
acknowledgment of his desert. 

And to establish the necessity of an Almighty power 
to restore him to the image and favour of God, let us 
look at the awful effects of the fall on the mind of man. 
And what are the injuries which the mind has received 
from the fall ? " The whole head is sick, the whole 
heart faint; from the sole of the foot even unto the 
head, there is no soundness in it :" " there is no health 
in us." " The grain of evil seed hath been sown in the 
heart of Adam from the beginning, and how much un- 
godliness hath it brought up unto this time." We 
come into the world without spiritual strength; the 
powers of the soul are maimed ; the understanding is 
clouded ; the will is perverse ; the affections are mis- 
placed. We do not judge rightly of things ; we choose 
evil rather than good, error rather than truth. Our 



16 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTUUES. 



affections are "earthly and sensual." The love of sin 
forms a chain with which " we are tied and bound," 
and from which he alone " whose nature and property 
it is to have mercy, and to forgive," can of the " piti- 
fulness of his great mercy loose us." 

** Sin, like a venomous disease, 
Infects our vital blood ; 
The only balm is sovereign grace, 
And the physician, God." 

Besides, the few that do return into the narrow way, is 
a proof of man's depravity, and of the necessity of 
divine influence and strength to discover our danger, 
and flee to the refuge held out to us. Salvation is ne- 
cessary for all, but how few regard it. All men are 
journeying either to heaven or to hell, but how few 
think on their ways, or stop to consider which road 
they are going. — In all these points, universal expe- 
rience bears its testimony to the truth of the Bible. 

Again, — We have an evidence of the truth of the 
Bible in the wonderful suitableness of its doctrines and 
promises, to the judgment, faith, and hope, and the 
inward experience of all good men. 

It is but a weak objection against the Bible to say 
that it contains many things above our reason and com- 
prehension. The suitableness of these things to our 
present state and condition and our future expectations, 
is a complete answer to this objection; since that which 
is suited to our state cannot be said to be unreasonable. 
Some deists have objected to the doctrine of future 
rewards and punishments as contrary to reason, yet 
they allow that such a doctrine is not without its uses and 
advantages to civil society ; and by this concession 
they show the fallacy of their objedtion, for bow can 
that be unreasonable or contrary to the principles of 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



17 



natural theology which has a manifest tendency- to pro- 
mote the good of society, unless it be said that society 
is a state contrary to nature and reason, which is absurd. 

Those doctrines of the Bible which are most cavilled 
at by unregenerate men, such as the universal depra- 
vity of man, the necessity of Divine influence, and the 
doctrine of eternal life through Jesus Christ, without the 
possibility of our procuring it in any degree by our own 
works and deservings, — are the doctrines which are re- 
ceived with cordial approbation by all good men. — 
They find in the Scriptures a most humbling statement 
given of the moral condition of man, and the counter- 
part which the knowledge of their own hearts affords, 
strengthens their faith in the Bible as the Word of God, 
and at the same time produces in them that repentance 
and that humility which God requires of his rebellious 
children, and to which so many encouraging promises 
are made. — The Christian finds his judgmeut yielding a 
ready assent to all the precepts of God's holy law; 
while to the justice of the threatenings denounced, his 
conscience testifies its ready approbation. The promises 
of pardon, of divine teaching, of inward strength to 
overcome temptations, of consolation in every time of 
distress, in fine, of acceptance and everlasting life in 
and through a Mediator, exactly meet his case. He 
finds in the Bible the most appropriate subjects for the 
exercise of his faith, and the most cheering objects for 
the foundation of his hope, and imperishable blessings 
for the gratification of the most ardent desires of his 
immortal spirit. 

In the history of the human heart as pourtrayed in 
the lives of many eminent saints, recorded in the Bible, 
the Christian sees a faithful picture of his own heart; 
his corruptions are the same, the world presents to him 
the same ensnaring attractions, the lusts of Ids flesh 

D 



18 ON TUB HOLY bCRlPrLKE!>. 

are as powerful, the wiles and devices of Satan beset 
him as constantly ; he finds not only his own character 
exhibited in the history of others, as far as relates to his 
conduct and depraved inclinations, but he sees the 
whole anatomy of his own heart, all the secret springs 
of his actions, all his inward motives, and hidden pur- 
poses, and false reasonings, and rebellious murmurings 
against the government of God, faithfully exhibited, 
proving to him that "as in water face answereth to 
face, so the heart of man to man." 

Thus he is led to the only refuge which the Bible 
offers to the penitent sinner, and which he sees to be mer- 
cifully suited to his own case. With the same evil heart 
and depraved inclinations, he finds the same renewing 
and sanctifying grace. Exposed to similar dangers, he 
flees to the same strong-hold. Equally guilty, he claims 
and enjoys the same pardon. As helpless and ignorant, 
and beset by the same snares and temptations, he re- 
ceives from the same source strength, wisdom, and de- 
liverance. With like fears, and misgivings, and trou- 
bles, and sorrows, he shares in the same encouragements, 
and deliverances, and consolations. A pilgrim in the 
same journey- — a stranger in the same land — a competitor 
in the same course — a soldier in the same warfare, he 
finds similar directions' and refreshments and enter- 
tainment, the same prize held out before him, the same 
captain to command, and the same crown for his eternal 
reward. In fine, — lost, ruined, perishing, sinful, feeble, 
blind and destitute, he partakes of the common salvation ; 
and having struggled with the same difficulties and 
dangers, and departed in the same faith, he joins the 
company of just men made perfect in the everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

There is also a remarkable congruity between the ge- 
neral instructions that are of universal application, 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



19 



which the Bible supplies, and the prospects unfolded, 
both of happiness and misery, and the constitution of 
man's nature, the forebodings of his mind, and the 
terrors and dictates of his conscience. 

With regard to the whole condition of man upon the 
earth, there is a surprising suitableness in the Bible. 
Society is the state in which men naturally desire to live ; 
and while the constitution of their nature leads them to 
this state, and fits them for it by imparting a willingness 
to submit to all its necessary regulations, and to afford 
that mutual aid which tends to the good of the whole, 
the Bible presents the basis of the laws by which societies 
should be regulated, and informs us of the purest mo- 
tives which should influence and guide our affections. 
We are here under the moral government of God — in 
a state of probation for another world, and in the Bible 
we find every direction to guide us, every thing to en- 
force the government of our Creator, and every necessary 
information respecting a future state. 

Fear and hope are the most powerful principles by 
which man is actuated. The dread of evil, or the ex- 
pectation of profit influences all our actions. Indeed 
one includes the other; for the desire of wealth is sti- 
mulated by the fear of poverty ; while health is valued, 
and earnestly sought, sickness and pain are the evils 
which at the same time are dreaded and avoided ; the 
love of life arises from the fear of death, as well as from 
enjoyment. Now the Bible furnishes the most alarming 
representations to excite our fear, and the most at- 
tractive promises to awaken our hope. 

There is a universal foreboding in the mind of man 
of a judgment to come, of the fearful effects of the 
wrath of an angry God, and of the consequences of 
transgression ; and the Scriptures meet this foreboding 
with the plainest declarations respecting the depravity 



20 ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

of human nature, and the awful end that awaits the 
impenitent sinner. Why does man shrink from the un- 
seen world, and tremble to appear a disembodied spi- 
rit in the presence of his Creator ? The Bible gives the 
only satisfactory answer, by acquainting us with the 
apostacy of all mankind, and the means of recovery 
and restoration to the favour of God. Here the in- 
fluence of hope begins to be felt on the mind. The 
promises of the Word of God, exactly suit the case 
of fallen man. The consciousness of immortality, in 
some degree inseparable from the soul of man, is only 
a source of terror and dismay, while a sense of guilt 
tends to array a future state in every feature that is for- 
midable to the human mind ; but the promises of the 
Gospel, whereby we know that " Jesus Christ hath 
abolished death, and brought life and immortality to 
light," furnish an antidote to this fear, and discover a 
cheering light rising amidst so dreary a darkness. 

When these promises are received into the heart by 
faith, they produce such a well-founded hope, as can- 
not be shaken by the misgivings of the heart, the op- 
position of the world, the trials and troubles of life, or 
the assaults of Satan. The inextinguishable love of life 
in man, and the promise of eternal life in the Gospel ; 
the dread of pain and suffering, and the promise of 
endless happiness and unvarying joy; the possession 
of so many various faculties of the mind, and promises 
of gratification to them all ; unite in producing a hope 
which presses forward to the heaven whence it origi- 
nated, and where it looks for the consummation of all 
its expectations. 

" Hope, with uplifted foot set free from earth, 
Pants for the place of her ethereal birth ; 
On steady wings sails through th* immense abyss, 
Plucks amaranthine joys from bow'rs of bliss, 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



21 



" And crowns the soul while yet a mourner here, 
With wreaths like those triumphant spirits wear." 

Cowper. 

Again, — We have another evidence of the Divine 
origin of the Bible in the nature and design of the 
miracles which it records. 

All religious systems are attempted to be established 
by the evidence and authority of something super- 
natural. Indeed, no other evidence will be admitted 
for the truth of a revelation which is in itself a de- 
parture from the course of nature, and must therefore 
bring with it, as vouchers of its authenticity, some 
miracles to which an appeal may be made for its truth 
and authority. — In so important a question as whether 
any religion be from God, or be an imposture, men 
ought not to decide on any evidence short of the exer- 
cise of a supernatural power in the performance of 
miracles to establish the authenticity of the revelation. 
And these miracles should be of a nature, and have 
such a manifest tendency as to show that they have in 
truth proceeded from God. 

To constitute the genuineness of miracles, we must 
have proof that they were performed openly, before 
disinterested persons, and were universal in success; 
they must bear the closest inspection and examination 
both of friends and enemies; the end to be obtained 
must be worthy of the exercise of a supernatural power ; 
and they must tend in some way to the good of man 
and the glory of God ; they must be recorded by eye 
witnesses, and these witnesses must be credible persons, 
who cannot be supposed to have any sinister views in 
their testimony. 

If we examine the miracles recorded in the Old and 
New Testaments, we shall find that they possess more 
or less all these marks of genuineness. Among the 



22 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



miracles recorded in the Old Testament, those per- 
formed by the ministry of Moses are the most numerous, 
a id the most remarkable. They were exhibited before 
the eyes of a whole nation, and that nation inimical to 
the people for whose sakes these wonders were displayed. 

The deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt 
Was to be accomplished by the conviction on the minds 
of their task-masters, that their freedom was demanded 
in the name of God; and therefore this demand was 
corroborated by a display of the most wonderful mi- 
racles. So long as the magicians, and sorcerers, and 
wise men of Egypt, either performed similar miracles, 
or seemed to do so, Pharaoh appeared to have some 
reasonable excuse for detaining the Israelites; but in 
the progress of the miracles, the power of these magi- 
cians was surpassed, and themselves fell under the same 
plagues, and were constrained to acknowledge that the 
power of God was evidently manifested. And it is 
worthy of remark that although these sorcerers produced 
similar appearances, the prophets of the true God were 
always in treated to intercede for the removal of the 
plagues. Here the art of the magician failed him. 
There was no failure on the part of God's ministers; 
had they denounced a plague, and it had not been in- 
flicted, they might have been justly rejected as im- 
postors 

And the end to be obtained, was worthy of the means 
employed. A people were to be separated from the 
world of idolaters, that the worship of the true God . 
might be maintained in purity, and that glory might 
redound to God. These miracles were also recorded 
fry the person who performed them, and the records 
were open to the inspection of those who had witnessed 
the performance; and they are still preserved by the 
descendants of those people. 



ON JUL HOLY SCfllFTUJRES. 



23 



Of the miracles of the New Testament, we may 
safely affirm that they will bear the most rigorous ex* 
animation, by the marks which we have stated as proofs 
of the genuineness of miracles. Jesus Christ professed 
to be a teacher from heaven, vested with Divine power 
and authority to establish a system of religion, more 
spiritual than that which was maintained by the 
Jews, and in direct opposition to the superstitions and 
profane rites of heathen worship. He constantly ap- 
pealed to the wonderful works which he performed, as 
proofs of the Divine authority of his mission. These 
works were done openly in the face of his enemies, as 
well as of his friends ; they were performed sometimes 
Tfith, and sometimes without the concurrence of the 
subjects of them, — sometimes on persons present, at their 
own request ; at other times on persons absent, at the 
intercession of others, — on the young and old, the rich 
md the poor, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the diseased, 
the paralytic, the possessed, the dying, and the dead.— 
There was no one instance in which Christ failed of 
success ; not one application was rejected ; u he went 
about doing good," " healing all manner of diseases." 
His works were exposed to the most severe scrutiny of 
those who hated him ; and when they could not gainsay 
the works, they ascribed them to demoniacal agency, 
rather than be willing to acknowledge the finger of God. 
So that we have the evidence of enemies, as well as of 
friends to the fact of the performance of the miracles 
of the New Testament, After every device and attempt 
to disprove the miracles of Christ and his apostles, 
" That indeed a notable miracle hath been done — and 
we cannot deny it," was the reluctant confession of those 
who sought to exterminate the religion of Jesus. 

The end proposed by the exhibition of these miracles, 
was worthy of the interference of Almighty power : 



24 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



this was no other than the glory of God and the good 
of man. The temporal benefit of man, was the result of 
almost every miracle recorded in the New Testament,and 
especially of those performed by Christ ; but the grand 
object was the establishment of Christianity — the pro- 
mulgation of a new and spiritual mode of worship — the 
institution of a church which should resist all the at- 
tacks of men and devils — the conversion of men from 
error and superstition, and the dominion of every vice, 
and preparing them for a state of perfect purity and 
happiness in heaven. These are objects worthy of the 
display of miraculous power, and which could indeed 
be effected only by the Almighty arm of God. 

The historians of the New Testament were persons 
who were eye-witnesses of what they related, and who 
cannot be suspected of any sinister views in their testi- 
mony. Their narratives were compiled and published 
while thousands were living who had witnessed the 
facts which they related, and had listened to the in- 
structions which they perpetuated, and had been bene- 
fited by the miracles which they recorded. They bore 
testimony also to the same truths in their public preach- 
ing, constantly appealing to the works of Christ and to 
his resurrection, as proofs of the Divine nature of his 
mission; and they promulgated and defended the doc- 
trines which he taught at the expense of the forfeiture 
of every comfort, and of all respect and protection, 
and under the severest rod of persecution which fol- 
lowed their steps wherever they went, and also at the 
hazard of their lives. 

These witnesses must be allowed to be competent, 
for they were eye-witnesses of the facts which they re- 
lated ; and their testimony must be admitted as credible, 
for they wrote their history immediately after the oc- 
currence of the events, and while they were open to 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



25 



the rigorous examination of enemies who possessed the 
same means as themselves of ascertaining the truth ; and 
they voluntarily underwent the greatest sufferings in 
order to establish and spread abroad the doctrines of 
the religion of Jesus, not only without any prospect of 
emolument, but with the surest prospect of reproach, 
calumny, opposition, imprisonment, torture, and death. 

Finally. — The Bible possesses an internal evidence 
of its truth, in the mildness of its laws, the sanctity 
and beneficial tendency of its precepts, and the bene- 
volent spirit which it inculcates on man. 

The morality of the Bible is indisputable; and the 
laws by which this morality is enforced are in their ten- 
dency beneficial to man. Obedience to the commands 
of God, while it ensures peace of conscience, preserves 
us from those courses which are ruinous to the body as 
well as the soul. The true happiness of man, with 
respect to both worlds, is closely connected with the 
observance of the precepts of God's word. And none 
of these precepts are rigorous or painful in the per- 
formance. The light of reason, the religion of nature, 
join with Scripture in enforcing them. They possess a 
surprising adaptation to the state of man in this life, and 
his prospects in a future life. To love the one true 
God with all our hearts, to reverence his authority, to 
observe his commands, form the ground-work of love 
to our neighbour; and both united are the strongest 
bonds of society, preserving to every individual relation 
its due influence, cementing families by the dearest ties, 
forming the civil compact which unites society, holding 
nations by the firmest connections of amity and mutual 
good offices, while the fear of God sheds its kindly in- 
fluence on each part, uniting the whole by the strongest 
bond — that of universal and absolute dependance on 
the Supreme Being. 

E 



26 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



The observance of the moral precepts of Scripture 
is not painful; nothing is commanded that is truly 
foreign to our nature, for man is a religious being : it 
is to his present fallen degraded state that these precepts 
form restraints ; they would have been the natural ex- 
pressions of piety in his original upright condition. — 
Every one feels within himself a repugnance more or less 
to the holy duties commanded in the Bible ; and this is 
a strong evidence of the truth of the Bible, for the de- 
pravity of man renders some guide, some authoritative 
commands in moral and religious matters, absolutely 
necessary, both for his own happiness, for the general 
welfare of society, and the glory of God. The Bible 
furnishes us with exactly the kind of guide supposed ; it 
is (as has been before proved) wonderfully accommodated 
to the actual condition of man ; and it is beyond all ob- 
jection certain, that if mankind lived under its influence, 
loving God supremely, and their neighbour as them, 
selves, happiness would infallibly ensue in the world, 
just in the same degree as this influence extended. 
Universal happiness would assuredly follow universal 
holiness. 

The Old Testament is a sort of introduction to the 
New. The laws and ritual observances which it com- 
mands, were all introductory to a more general, and 
perfect dispensation. The spirit of the gospel is that 
which breathes universal benevolence. The general 
character of nations is changed by the reception of the 
gospel. They may have been courageous, humane, and 
religious, (as it regards heathen superstitions,) polite? 
and learned ; but then their bravery has made them only 
ambitious and warlike, and, in consequence, scourges 
and pests to the degree which their strength enabled 
them ; their humanity has been confined in its exercise 
to the ties of relationship and consanguinity ; their re- 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



27 



ligion has been one without morality, without beneficial 
tendency ; their polished manners have left them cruel, 
haughty, and tyrannical; and their learning has not 
guarded them from falling into the most dangerous 
errors. We have unequivocal proof of this in the state 
of the Grecian and Roman people. But if we turn to na- 
tions which have imbibed the genuine spirit of the gospel, 
we find in exact proportion to the reception and cul- 
tivation of this spirit, benevolence, kindness, true piety, 
civilization, and knowledge in all its beneficial ten- 
dencies, predominate. And where this spirit has at 
any time declined, there has been a sensible diminution 
of the good effects which we have just mentioned. 

Christianity is the only religious system in the world, 
which extends its influence, in some degree, even over 
the horrors of war; tending to restrain ambition, to 
promote peace, and to prevent acts of cruelty and op- 
pression towards the vanquished. It alone exercises its 
influence over prisons and gibbets ; softening the pu- 
nishments which are decreed against the vicious into re- 
venge against the crime, and not against the man ; and 
making the end of all human laws to be the benefit of 
society, the protection of the virtuous, and the reclaim- 
ing of offenders. 

We may look with triumph at the influence of Chris- 
tianity in our own happy land. To what other source 
shall we trace the public character of this nation, its 
integrity, good faith, generosity. Whence have ori- 
ginated, but in the benign spirit of the Gospel, its in- 
numerable institutions for the good of man, — its hos- 
pitals, its asylums for the poor, the aged and the des- 
titute, — its munificent public benefactions to sufferers 
of other nations, — its care for the poor of the land, — its 
Bible and Missionary Societies, — the mild spirit of its 
laws, and their equitable administration, — and the glo- 



28 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



lious constitution of its government, the envy and ad- 
miration of the world. 

What was Britain before it was christianized, and 
what would it become were its altars overthrown, and 
the darkness of paganism, or the frigid, unsocial spirit 
of Deism, to succeed? What frightful effects were 
produced in France on the decline of Christianity, and 
at length the total rejection of the Bible ! Was not 
their soil died with the blood of their own countrymen, 
and have they not been a pest to surrounding nations ! 
May God preserve to Britain that faith which has pro- 
duced, and which alone can preserve her eminence 
among the nations, and all the invaluable advantages 
which her favoured sons now enjoy ! 

The circumstances then (to recapitulate what has been 
said,) in which man is placed, render it necessary that 
he should have a revelation from God. Man cannot be 
instructed in Divine things, in things relating to God 
and another world, either by reason or experience, 
therefore such knowledge must come from God. We 
find in the world a universal notion of religion, so far 
as relates merely to the being of a God, and the fore- 
bodings of the mind with respect to a future state of 
retribution. This knowledge must have come at first 
immediately from God, whether we consider it as having 
been imparted more fully in a written revelation, or 
impressed on the minds of men by God, and thus 
forming a part of their very nature. We have briefly 
considered the claims which the Bible possesses of being 
a revelation from heaven, by comparing it to other 
writings pretending to Divine authority ; and have es- 
tablished its authenticity by an examination of its ex- 
ternal and internal evidences, all which prove it to hare 
been given " by inspiration of God." 

Let us now enquire, in what spirit and temper the 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



29 



Bible ought to be studied, and notice some of the mis- 
takes into which those persons fall, who read the Scrip- 
tures with unhumbled hearts ; and endeavour to point 
out the advantages to be derived from this study. 

In the school of Christ the first requisite is humility. 
The disciples of the meek and lowly Jesus, must pos- 
sess the same mind which was also in him : they are 
commanded to become as little children. It is in this 
character, and with this temper the Bible must be taken 
into our hands. The pride of man must be beaten 
down before the Wisdom of God. All his prejudices 
must yield to the testimony of truth. We must not 
take up the Bible to see whether its contents are in 
unison with our preconceptions of things ; but we must 
come to it with a conviction of ignorance, and a wil- 
lingness to be taught, — with a desire to know what is 
revealed, and a readiness to yield obedience to its pre - 
cepts, — with a consciousness of our dangers and diffi- 
culties, and liability to stray far from the right way, 
and an earnest desire to find a light to guide our du- 
bious steps. The Bible must be studied as a whole, as 
a system, all the parts of which harmonize, and have a 
bearing on each other. We are not at liberty to take 
or reject as may suit our notions, but with humility to 
have equal respect to all that the Bible contains. 

It is conceded that reason must be our guide in deter- 
mining on the claims of a book, pretending to be a reve- 
lation from God, because we have no other means of 
deciding on such a subject. But then it is above the 
province of reason to determine in any degree what a 
revelation from God ought to contain, for it is impos- 
sible that we can be judges in this matter. We are 
necessarily ignorant, totally ignorant of the scheme of 
God's government, and the extent of his designs. How 
then can we know what is, or what is not necessary to 



30 



OX THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



further these designs, and to conduct this government. 
How can we know what means are best suited to pro- 
mote the ends which God has determined, seeing we 
are so iittle acquainted with the connections, and the 
consequences of events ? Results the most desirable and 
beneficial are daily flowing from the use of means 
apparently not at all calculated to produce them. — 
We are surprised at such results, because of our 
ignorance as to the nature and effect of the means. 
Shall we then presumptuously say, such and such 
things cannot be from God, because we cannot re- 
concile them to our notions, to our narrow bound of 
knowledge ? 

We are not to receive and reject doctrines according 
as they are within or above the grasp of our under- 
standing. If the evidence on which any particular 
doctrine rests be good and satisfactory, we are under an 
inviolable obligation to admit it, whether we can or can- 
not understand that doctrine in all its bearings ; whether 
we can reconcile it to other parts of Scripture, or whe- 
ther it seems to us to be at variance with them. The 
nature of the evidence on which the authority of the 
Bible rests, is open to our most diligent scrutiny, but 
when we have received satisfactory proof that it is 
the "Word of God. we owe a ready and cheerful obe- 
dience to its contents. When the humble enquirer sits 
down to ascertain the will of God, he must begin as a 
little child, feeling his ignorance, and laying aside his 
prejudices, and receiving lessons in Divine things with 
implicit faith and trust in a Divine Teacher. — If we 
meet with a declaration in Scripture ever so contrary 
to our notions, we are bound nevertheless to receive that 
declaration, because we are unfit to judge what a reve- 
lation from God ought to contain. It should be suffi- 
cient for us that the Bible possesses evidence of its Divine 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



31 



authority above that of other pretended revelations, and 
evidence sufficient to satisfy any reasonable man, and to 
justify him in giving himself up to its guidance. 

We see the works of God around us, and we are at 
liberty to scrutinize them, and make inquiries into their 
nature, and properties, and uses ; but it is vain, not to 
say impious, to raise objections against many parts of 
that beautiful whole, because we are unable to go into 
the reasons why they were so and so created. If the 
universe be the work of an infinitely wise, and good, 
and powerful God, we may be assured that all things 
are " very good," and that every thing is in its exact 
place, in that place which is best suited to its nature 
and ends ; and that all things are made according to an 
exact measure, neither more nor less than they should 
be. 

So if the Bible reveals a doctrine altogether above 
our reason, and quite contrary to what we should have 
supposed, we are bound to receive it without gainsaying 
or hesitation, from a persuasion that it comes from 
God, and that we are incompetent to decide what doc- 
trines should or should not be propounded for our ac- 
ceptance. The fact of the doctrine is our province, 
and not the reason of it : faith is our duty, not a curious 
investigation into the reasons of Divine precepts. To 
believe God, to give him credence is surely the least 
homage we can pay him. " It is written," should at all 
times silence our doubtings and disputation. All shall 
at length confess that 06 He is a God of truth, and without 
iniquity." 

When we meet with an assertion or command from 
our fellow-men, we are at liberty, and it is our privilege 
to examine that assertion or that command, and to try 
it by reason and experience, and to receive or reject it 
as we find it correspond or at variance with them. 



32 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



But creatures must receive from their Creator all his 
commandments and doctrines with reverence, with faith, 
with implicit obedience. God has a sovereign and uni- 
versal authority over his creatures, and it must be highly 
impious in them to object to any particular mode of 
government which he exercises over them, or to ques- 
tion and reject any communications which he may at 
any time have made to them. 

It is allowed that there are in the Scriptures " some 
things hard to be understood," but to be " wise unto 
salvation" is within the reach of all minds. The Holy 
Scriptures having been written to instruct men in the 
way to heaven, " they are all plain to him that under- 
standeth, and right to them that find knowledge." Yet 
we find that in the study of the Scriptures there is a 
great variety of attainment in different persons, and for 
this reason perhaps, that no two persons think exactly 
alike on any given subject ; there are some shades of 
difference, could we discern the impression made on 
the soul of each. This individuality in the condition of 
man, while it tends to give us an enlarged idea of the 
extent of God's government, in which are determined 
and guided the interests of each individual according 
to his particular condition, serves also to show us the 
wonderful suitableness of the Word to the cases and 
characters of all. Every man makes discoveries for 
himself in the mine of Divine Truth, and finds some- 
thing exactly suited to his own particular case, so suited 
as if it were written for him solely. 

There is a correlative agreement between the condition 
of man and the statements which the Bible contains ; 
between his sinfulness, and the mercy which is of- 
fered ; between his debased state, and the method of 
recovery which is revealed ; between his present misery, 
and the prospect of happiness which is unfolded.—- 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



33 



Every part of the Bible is grounded on the presumption 
that the world is in a depraved, degraded condition. It 
sets out with this statement, and proceeds on this very 
ground : the account of the fall of man is followed by 
a relation of the universal defection of mankind, and 
the dreadful display of Divine wrath, in the destruction 
of nearly all the human race by a flood of waters : then 
follows the history of a people, who were chosen and 
selected to preserve the knowledge and worship of 
the true God, and to bear testimony to the true reli- 
gion in the midst of an idolatrous world : the prophets 
who were raised up amongst this people to instruct and 
warn them, were also inspired toforetel the introduction 
at a certain time of a new dispensation of mercy, where- 
by man might be restored to God. The New Testament 
furnishes us with a complete account of the commence- 
ment of this dispensation, and the accomplishment of the 
prophecies respecting it, so far as the fulness of time had 
arrived ; and also supplies us with the most plain and 
copious directions and instructions, how the Gospel is to 
be received and understood. 

The universal depravity of man must be acknow- 
ledged as one of the principal facts stated in the Bible, 
because he that rejects this fact, denies that on which 
every statement in the Bible is founded, and indeed 
rejects the necessity of a revelation from God, inasmuch 
as the depraved state of mankind is the fact which con- 
stitutes the necessity of a revelation. In the opposition 
which this statement encounters, we have an additional 
proof of its truth ; it is a part of this depravity to deny 
its own existence. The natural pride of man is such 
that he will not admit the circumstances of the very state 
in which he finds himself ; and until he does this, he ex- 
cludes himself from the only way of deliverance, because 
this way is fitted for, and grounded on the existence of 

F 



34 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



such circumstances. To humble man and to exalt 
God, is the design of revelation ; but vain man rights 
against this order of things, and strives to exalt him- 
self, although in so doing he denies the truth of God's 
Word, and depreciates Divine mercy. 

The effects of sin are to bring darkness into the mind, 
to blind the eyes of the understanding, to spread a 
veil over the heart; and therefore it is necessary that a 
Divine power should remove this blindness, and impart 
spiritual light and knowledge to the mind. The de- 
pravity of man not only renders a revelation, but also 
Divine teaching necessary, to enable him to understand 
what that revelation contains. This supplies us with a 
solution of the question, how it is that one man discerns 
particular statements and doctrines in the Bible, which 
another man not only cannot find, but which he rejects 
with indignation and contempt, and opposes with scorn* 
ful hatred. 

The universal and total depravity of man, — his reco- 
very by the mediation of Jesus Christ, or God mani- 
fested in the flesh, — the necessity of a Divine power to 
overcome the enmity of the human heart against the 
things of God, — the necessity of Divine teaching to en- 
able man to know the way of salvation, and of the 
communications of the Holy Spirit to help him to walk 
in that way agreeably to the precepts of God, — the 
sovereignty of Divine grace, in God's bestowing these 
blessings freely on whomsoever he will, — these are facts 
and doctrines which the mere light of human reason can 
never discover in the Scriptures, nor admit to be doc- 
trines according to godliness, because they are directly 
opposed to the pride of reason ; they take away all 
that man vainly desires to arrogate to himself, they 
contradict all that he obstinately maintains, and over- 
throw all that his pride wishes to establish. So true 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



35 



is it that "the natural man receiveth not the things of 
the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; 
neither can he know them, because they are spiritually 
discerned." 

The method which God has adopted to recover man, 
and to reconcile him to himself, is one which magnifies 
his own wisdom, and includes also the design of abasing 
the pride of man. " Behold," says God, " I will pro- 
ceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even 
a marvellous work, and a wonder : for the wisdom of 
their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of 
their prudent men shall be hid." The things which 
are weakne s and foolishness in the estimation of the 
carnal mind, are wisdom and power to those that have 
spiritual discernment ; that which is a stumbling block, 
and a cause of destruction to the former, is a " savour 
of life unto life," a light, a guide, and help to the 
latter. 

A man who comes to the Bible merely with the light 
of reason, and all the prejudices of the carnal mind, 
cannot discern those things which are so plain to the 
humble enquirer, who has sought and obtained Divine 
illumination, that " he may run that readeth it." While 
the wise are confounded, and stumble, and perish, the 
" wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err." The 
carnal man not only feels an enmity against the humi- 
liating doctrines of the Bible, but he feels contempt for 
those that do receive them ; he accounts them to be 
weak-minded persons, who are easily led astray, and 
persuaded into any creed, — fanatics and enthusiasts, 
whose weak heads and warm hearts are apt to take up 
with any crude notions, and to yield to any superstitious 
influence. 

No man seeks direction from another, till he distrusts 
his own wisdom ; he does not lean on another for sup- 



36 



0\ THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



port, till he feels his own weakness. There must be a 
consciousness, and an humble confession of our own igno- 
rance in the things of God, before we shall profit by 
the reading of the sacred Scriptures. This disposition 
will lead us to search them diligently, and to study 
them with prayer. If any man desire to be made wise 
unto salvation, " let him become a fool that he may be 
made wise:" let him lay aside the pride of reason which 
increases the natural darkness of the mind, and let him 
humbly seek that Spirit which is " the candle of the 
Lord," and he will then have made an important step 
towards the understanding of Divine things : 

" Vous serez eclair^, puisque vous voulez l'etre." 

This Divine illumination is necessary because of the 
ignorance of man, the exalted character of a revelation 
from God, and the dangerous errors into which men 
are liable to fall by leaning to their own understanding. 
It is plainly said that " the things of God knoweth no 
man, but the Spirit of God;" here the ignorance of 
man, and the sublime nature of a revelation, are stated 
as constituting the necessity of Divine teaching, of spi- 
ritual illumination. Being the " things of God," they 
are beyond the grasp of human intelligence, till the 
dimmed light and shortened powers of reason are en- 
lightened and strengthened from on high. 

Without this heavenly light, men are exposed to fall 
into many and dangerous mistakes in reading the Holy 
Scriptures ; and many doctrines contained in them be- 
come an offence and a stumbling-block. Some are 
offended with the plainness and simplicity of the lan- 
guage ; and yet dignity of style, eloquence of expres- 
sion, and the beauties of poetry, are not wanting in their 
proper places ; but these graces are never used as mere 
ornaments to recommend the contents of the Bible to 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 37 



the imagination, and to beguile men by the beauty of 
the language into a reception of the doctrines revealed. 
Let the Mohammedan boast of the sublime eloquence 
of many passages of his Koran, let him be satisfied with 
this tinsel distinction ; we have Scriptures which carry 
conviction to our minds by the majesty and authority 
of inspiration. 

Eloquence and high-sounding language are often used 
to strengthen a weak cause, or to gloss over an unjust 
one, or to recommend to the notice of men a subject 
which needs such aid to make it appear important, or 
to gain applause to the writer. But the message of 
the Gospel is delivered with great plainness, with dig- 
nified simplicity, " not in the words which man's wis- 
dom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth." 
The cause is that of truth, mighty in itself, and all* 
important to man. 

The humiliating doctrines of the Bible are another 
source of offence to the carnal mind. These have 
already been noticed, and the cause pointed out ; but 
let it be observed, that if these things remain as stum- 
bling-blocks to the mind, they prove that the man is 
still " in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of in- 
iquity :" " if the Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that 
are lost ; in whom the God of this world hath blinded 
the minds of them who believe not, lest the light of the 
glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, 
should shine unto them." 

The Bible may also be read under a mistake, by 
men's applying to themselves those parts of Scripture 
which have no reference to their character and state. — 
Some persons make a sort of conjuring book of the 
Bible, by opening it at random, and taking the first 
passage that presents itself to the eye as a direction to 
them in any particular circumstances in which they 



38 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



may be placed. Others are as much influenced by cer- 
tain portions of the Scriptures which suddenly come to 
their recollection, and they take that for an inspiration 
from heaven which is the mere effect of memory and 
the imagination. Many under heavy sufferings, brought 
on themselves by their own imprudence and profligacy, 
take comfort from the gracious addresses made to the 
people of God, while their own character and circum- 
stances bear no sort of resemblance to those of the 
persons to whom these particular consolations were ad- 
dressed. Some compare themselves in the time of 
severe trial and opposition from men, to the most holy 
servants of God, and repeat the language of David, or 
some other of the prophets, as applicable to their cases ; 
and some have not scrupled to compare themselves to 
Christ. 

We should consider that the promises contained in 
the Holy Scriptures, belong to us individually only 
so far as we bear the marks and evidences of the per- 
sons to whom these promises are addressed. They are 
all made to particular characters, and unless we feel 
that disposition of mind which is implied in any parti- 
cular promise, we cannot have any just ground for 
taking comfort or encouragement to ourselves from the 
gracious tenor of the promise. 

The promises of pardon, are made to those only who 
sorrow on the account of sin; the promises of restora- 
ration to the backslider, are addressed to those only who 
are penitent and who mourn over their departure from 
God ; the promises of Divine direction, are spoken to 
those who acknowledge the hand of God in all things. 
Glory is promised to humility ; pardon to confession 
and the forsaking of sins ; the fruition of God's pre- 
sence, to a hungering and thirsting after righteousness; 
the happiness which is laid up in heaven, to a reverential 
and holy fear of God. 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 39 



The greatest care, and the closest examination of our 
own character, are necessary in this matter, lest we 
speak peace to our hearts, when God does not speak 
peace ; lest we lull ourselves into a fatal security, and 
take it for granted that we have an undoubted right to 
all the consolations of the Gospel, because we profess 
to be the disciples of Christ, and yet remain destitute of 
the temper and conduct of his faithful servants. 

A mere profession of faith does not induce those holy 
tempers which are the fruit of the Spirit, and conse- 
quently does not give us any warrant or title to the pro- 
mises made to sincere christians. " Men are apt to for- 
get that their characters are not always formed by their 
avowed principles ; we may hold a sound faith, without 
its having that hold of us as to form our spirits and con- 
duct; we may profess an erroneous creed, and yet our 
spirits and conduct may be formed nearly irrespective of 
it ; in short, there is a difference between principles and 
opinions; the former are the actual moving causes which 
lie at the root of action ; and the other often float in the 
mind, without being reduced to practice." 

The end of knowledge is practice. The mind may 
be well informed of the truths of Scripture, and the 
memory well stored with its precepts and doctrines, but 
unless they reach the heart, and influence the conduct, 
the great end for which they were given is lost, and our 
guilt will but be aggravated by our barren knowledge. 
There is a lamentable inclination in men to be hearers, 
but not doers of the word ; to substitute knowledge for 
practice; to put the sign for the thing signified; to place 
ceremonies in the stead of obedience ; to quiet the con- 
science by ritual observances, while a holy life is out- 
raged. Men may be loud talkers in defence of ortho- 
doxy, and yet live wholly destitute of the power of 
godliness, altogether uninfluenced by those doctrines 
which they so strenuously advocate. 



40 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



We may read the Bible as we do any other well 
authenticated history; we may be convinced of the 
truth of Scripture, our judgments may be convinced, 
but unless our affections are inclined, and led into a 
right bias by the revelations of Scripture, the most im- 
portant end for which they were made to men, has not 
been fulfilled in us. 

A man has much light on doctrinal subjects ; he can 
discourse freely on the plan of human redemption ; he 
speaks of the inability of man, and the necessity of 
Divine illumination ; he gives a clear definition of con- 
version, and expatiates on the beauty and indispensable 
necessity of holiness ; he can harrow up the soul with 
the terrors of the Lord, while he sets forth the solemnity 
of a judgment to come, and the torments of lost spirits ; 
his language darkens the very darkness of hell, and 
the pictures of misery which he paints, cause the mind 
to be filled with horror : again, he describes with 
powerful eloquence the glories and the bliss of hea- 
ven ; the ear hangs with delight on his mellifluous 
accents, and the spirit drinks in with eagerness the 
splendid thoughts, the sublime ideas with which he 
illustrates the fascinating theme ; his auditors never tire 
with listening to his inviting representations of the 
pearly gates, the golden streets, the blissful mansions 
of the redeemed . It is possible, and let the fact speak 
with alarm to the conscience, it is possible that a man 
may do all this, and yet be uninfluenced by the saving 
power of the Gospel in his own soul : he may do all 
this, and his heart remain unsubdued, his spirit un- 
sanctified, his conscience under the power of moral 
guilt, his temper uncorrected, and his conduct unholy. 

There is a wide distance between profession and 
practice ; between the mere knowledge of the doctrines 
of the Gospel, and the holy influence which they have 



ON THE 



HOLY 



SCRIPTURES. 



41 



on the cond act when fully received into the heart. There 
is a vast difference between hypocrisy and sincerity : the 
hypocrite talks of religion, the sincere christian loves it; 
the former defines it. the latter receives it into his heart ; 
the former commends it. the latter lives according to it; 
the one knows it, the other practises it. 

The Scriptures should be read to furnish us with mat- 
ter for prayer. We have read the Bible to no purpose, 
unless it has induced a spirit of prayer. The first 
evidence of spiritual life in the soul, is the voice of 
prayer. It is impossible that a man can read the 
Scriptures with profit, with understanding, that he can 
"mark, learn, and inwardly digest them," without 
discovering his deplorable condition as a descendant 
from fallen parents, his danger, his weakness, his de- 
pravity, his necessities; and it is equally impossible 
that he should know and understand these things aright, 
and not feel an irresistible disposition to pray to the 
Giver of all good, — to continue earnest in supplication 
for Divine teaching, for strength to be imparted to his 
soul, for his wants to be supplied, and for the obtaining 
of an assurance, that he is interested in the salvation 
which Christ has accomplished for sinners. 

To read the Bible, is the way to have a spirit of prayer 
excited in the heart ; and to read the Bible with prayer, 
is the means of keeping alive that spirit ; for the daily 
study of the Word of God, discovers to us more of the de- 
pravity of our sinful natures, and the consequent neces- 
sity of sanctifying grace to enable us to resist the evil, — 
more of the wiles of our spiritual adversary Satan, and 
the need we have of weapons from the spiritual armoury 
of God, and of heavenly wisdom, and heavenly strength, 
to wield those weapons with success, — more of the evil 
nature of sin, the holiness and justice of God, the cer- 
tainty of a future judgment, the anguish of hell, and 

G 



42 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



the glories- of heaven, and consequently our want of 
pardon and of righteousness, the value of a Mediator, 
and the necessity of faith in him. 

Thus the knowledge of our wants, excites prayer to 
have those wants supplied, — a conviction of our danger, 
produces a desire to be delivered from it, — a belief of 
the miseries of hell, and of the blessedness of heaven, 
moves us to earnest and constant supplication to be 
saved from the one, and to obtain an inheritance in the 
other. Thus we are led to God daily with our hard 
hearts, that he may give us hearts of flesh ; with our 
unclean hearts, that he may sanctify them; with our 
depraved hearts, that he may renew them; with our 
foolish hearts, that he may teach them; with our re- 
bellious hearts, that he may bring them into obedience 
to Christ ; with our unbelieving hearts, that he may pro- 
duce saving faith in them. Thus we are inclined to 
lift up our souls to God daily, that he would cause us 
to be born again, to be transformed by the renewing of 
our minds, to be converted to God, to be thoroughly 
changed, to be created anew in Christ Jesus, and to 
have a right spirit formed within us; that the love of 
God may be shed abroad in our hearts, through the 
Holy Spirit given unto us; that we may be saved 
from the dominion of sin — be kept by the mighty 
power of God, through faith, unto salvation — be pre- 
served in Christ Jesus, and called — be redeemed from 
the present evil world — -be sanctified in body, soul, 
and spirit — be preserved blameless unto the coming 
of the day of God, and find mercy of the Lord at 
that day. 

Again, — -The Bible must be read without partiality. 
To receive only just so much as accords with our notions, 
and to reject all that opposes our conceptions of things, 
—all that tends to humble our pride, and to confound 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



43 



our reason, is to reflect on the Wisdom of God, and to 
charge him with folly ! 

Many are ready enough to receive the promises of 
pardon, who slight the threatenings denounced against 
disobedience, — to listen to the descriptions of the hea- 
venly glory, but to shut their ears against the revelation 
of a bottomless pit, and of everlasting burnings. The 
doctrine of salvation by Jesus Christ, is a pleasant 
message, but the enforcement of a holy life, the neces- 
sity of being renewed and sanctified, are stumbling 
blocks, and grounds of offence. Doctrines are singled 
out here and there, to make up a system that will be 
pleasing to the foolish heart of man; promises are se- 
lected, and applied to the conscience, to heal the wounds 
of sin ; while all the holy precepts of the Word are 
neglected, and such laxity of conduct prevails, as if 
all the moral laws of God were abrogated and repealed, 
and holiness made no part of the system of Christianity. 

The Bible is abased unless it be made a book of di- 
rections to guide us, as well as an encouraging book of 
gracious declarations to encourage us, — a warning book 
of cautions, an alarming book of threatenings, as well 
as a precious book of promises to animate our hearts, 
and cheer our way. Every part should have its due 
weight and influence on the heart and conduct. We 
must consider the precepts of God's word, meditate on 
its counsels, believe its declarations, be warned by its 
cautions, alarmed by its threatenings, guided by its di- 
rections, swayed by its commands, sweetly inclined by 
its invitations, and encouraged by its promises. 

By many the Scriptures are read partially. The 
freeness of the gift of salvation, the completeness of 
the mediatorial work of Christ, the perseverance of be- 
lievers through the stability of the covenant of grace, 
the promises of grace and pardon, are selected, and are 



44 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



dwelt upon continually, as tbough the Gospel did not 
command the observance of one holy duty, as though 
the very system of the Gospel did not involve a renun- 
ciation of all sin, an aiming at universal obedience ; — 
as though heaven were promised, and the way not 
marked out — the way of holiness in which we must 
walk thither ; — as though God had appointed an end, 
without the means by which that end is to be obtained. 

Among the blessings conferred by the mediation of 
Jesus, sanctification takes an eminent place. It is the 
hatred of sin, and the holiness of their lives, which 
must distinguish between the followers of Jesus Christ, 
and the lovers of the world. To affirm that the law 
is not binding on believers, as an eternal obligation of 
moral rule, is to divide Christ — to consent to his office of 
priest, but not to submit to his authority as king; it is 
to "break his sceptre at the foot of his cross," to look 
to him for redemption, but not to be willing to follow 
him as an example — to desire to have his blood 
sprinkled on our souls, but not to receive his spirit into 
our hearts. This is to pervert the office of faith, and 
thereby to turn it as a weapon against the law ; whereas 
St. Paul tells us, that by faith in Christ the law is 
established. 

The law is indeed abrogated as a covenant ; that is, 
we cannot now obtain eternal life by the observance of 
its commands, seeing we have broken them in numberless 
instances, and have no strength to observe them. But 
the end of the law — holiness and the glory of God — is 
fulfilled in the Gospel. It is fulfilled in Christ, who 
hath magnified the law, and brought glory to God by 
the perfect observance of all its commands. It is ful- 
filled in us, by the communication of the sanctifying 
grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may be holy and 
blameless. Therefore the law is not void, but esta- 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



45 



blished ; and though we are not under it, as was Adam 
at his first creation, jet we are not without law unto 
God. All its requirements are binding upon us as a 
rule of life. Holiness is to be perfecting in us while we 
are on earth ; it will be perfected in heaven, where we 
shall enjoy fully the free gift of salvation through a 
Mediator. 

Again, — The Scriptures must be read with self-ap- 
plication of their statements to ourselves. It is a com- 
mon delusion for persons to read the Bible with a mis- 
taken application. They read of heaven as doubtless 
their final destination, — of hell as the place which they 
shall of course escape, — of Christ, as the Saviour, as 
their Saviour, — of the righteous, as being themselves of 
that number, — and of the wicked, as some strangely 
blasphemous, dishonest, murderous characters. There 
is no right self-application in all this, no enquiry how 
far they bear the marks of one, or are free from the spots 
of the other. Some persons, under the mask of cha- 
ritableness, are for opening the gates of heaven to all, 
that they themselves may not be shut out ; they would 
widen the narrow way for all, that they themselves may 
be included in it; the hope which they express of every 
one is, that he is gone to the rest which remaineth for 
the people of God, because by secretly comparing 
themselves with others, they feel a degree of inward 
complacency as to their own superior sanctity, or at 
least they form a conclusion of comparative goodness, 
and an expectation of being followers of those, whom 
they have thus charitably sent on first to heaven. 

We must be willing to include ourselves, in the Scrip- 
tural statements of universal depravity and degradation 
by the fall, and we must feel our necessity of salvation, 
as sinners exposed to endless and irremediable ruin with- 
out it. In judging our real character as sinners, we 



46 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, 



should not look so much to our conduct, as to our hearts. 
We have the same evil nature that others have, and if 
we have not gone the same lengths in sin, it is because 
the Grace and Providence of God have restrained us. 
We must be humbled for our share of the general de- 
pravity of man, and remember that the seeds of all 
evil are within us, and that the judgment of God re- 
gards as much what we should do, had we the oppor- 
tunity, as what we have already committed. Many 
whom we account exceedingly vile, might not have been 
so, had they not fallen into particular circumstances; 
that is, the particular evils of their hearts, which were 
suited to particular temptations, would not have ap- 
peared, had not those temptations come upon them to 
call them forth. This should make us tender of others, 
and jealous of ourselves; "let him that thinketh he 
standeth, take heed lest he fall." " God is no respecter 
of persons." 

Many are kept from coming to Christ, may we not 
say all that are lost, are kept from coming to Christ, 
because they have never been convinced of sin ; they 
have a persuasion that they are not so bad as other men, 
they are not the sinners; they set up a comparative 
standard in their own imagination, and not falling un- 
der the sentence of total and universal corruption, they 
fall short of the only way of salvation. The Gospel 
being a provision for sinful, lost, and ruined man, un- 
less we feel this to be our state, we cannot make a sav- 
ing application of that provision to ourselves. Till we 
receive all the statements of the Bible with respect to 
sin, we cannot receive with profit its declarations and 
promises of grace. Salvation implies danger, faith im- 
plies a consciousness of danger, which has led to an 
enquiry for salvation — to an embracing of the means of 
recovery and deliverance. Pardon implies guilt, and re- 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



47 



pentance implies a conviction of guilt, and an earnest 
cry for pardon, and restoration to the favour of God. — 
When we have received and applied to ourselves all the 
humiliating statements of the Bible, we are prepared to 
receive the consolations and promises of the Bible. 
Conviction of sin leads to fear, and anxious enquiry 
about deliverance ; these lead to a knowledge of the 
Gospel, to repentance, faith, humility, hope, "glory, 
honour, and immortality." 

There is no part of the Bible, from which some in- 
struction may not be derived. " Every word of God is 
pure." The historical narrations, even in their mi- 
nuteness, teach us the universal dominion of God's 
providence. The falls of good men, which are faith- 
fully recorded, teach us the universal depravity of man, 
and that perfection resides in no one human being, that 
we may neither despair nor presume. If we rightly 
apply these instances, they will not make us careless, 
nor harden us in presumption, nor cause us to think 
lightly of sin, but we shall regard them as beacons placed 
to warn us of rocks and quicksands ; and while we are 
humbled under a feeling of common infirmity, we shall 
become cautious and watchful, lest we also fall into 
temptation. 

Finally, — The Bible must be read, in order that we 
may discover more of the character, office, person, and 
glory of Christ. " Search the Scriptures," saith our 
Lord, "they are they which testify of me." Christ is 
to be found in the Old Testament as well as in the New. 
46 All the prophets from Samuel, and those that follow 
after, as many as have spoken," wrote concerning his 
manifestation in the flesh. This was the grand object 
and design of prophecy. All the sacrificial offerings 
which were appointed by God, from the days of Adam, 
to the period of the cessation of the daily offering at 



48 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



Jerusalem, pointed to Christ as the " Lamb slain from 
the foundation of the world," as the propitiatory of- 
fering, the final sacrifice which was once to be offered in 
the latter ages of the world, to put away sin. — All the 
typical rites, and ceremonies, and ablutions under the 
law, directed the eye of faith in the spiritual worshippers, 
to the great Antitype, Jesus Christ. 

We must not regard the whole ritual service of the 
Jewish Church, as an institution efficacious to the sal- 
vation of the chosen race, while they continued a dis- 
tinct people, and adhered to the true God ; for in that 
case the same service and rites would have been given 
at some peri 3d to the other nations of the earth, that 
they also might be saved ; for we know from prophecy 
that the gracious designs of the Almighty, extended to 
the restoration and salvation of the Gentiles. We must 
not suppose that the form of religion established in the 
antient church, was efficient to salvation in itself, and is 
now abolished simply in consequence of the political 
changes which have taken place in the Jewish nation : 
that service was always inefficient per se to the salvation 
of man, and was merely initial, serving to introduce a 
more glorious, and a perfect economy. If the sacrifices 
under the law could have taken away sin, " then would 
they not have ceased to be offered;" because the taking 
away of sin was the end to be obtained, and if the 
former dispensation was efficacious to this end, why 
should another be introduced ; but " the law having a 
shadow of good things to come," was only introductory 
to a more glorious dispensation under the Gospel ; it 
was merely the scaffolding, which was removed when 
the " holy temple," "built upon the foundation of the 
apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the 
chief corner-stone," was " fitly framed," and "builded 
together, for an habitation of God through the Spirit." 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



49 



Christ himself thus expounded these things, " and be- 
ginning at Moses, and all the prophets," he showed 
that "in all the Scriptures," they wrote "concerning 
himself." 

The whole design of Revelation is to show men how 
they may recover their uprightness, to instruct them in 
those things in which their everlasting interests are in- 
volved, to make known unto them the scheme of 
redemption by a Mediator. If this be the design of the 
Bible, and Christ be the grand theme of inspiration, 
how then can they have read this sacred book with any 
advantage, who can discover in it nothing more than a 
code of morals, or system of directions in what manner 
men should regulate their conduct, while yet at the same 
time, men have lost that moral power which would en- 
able them to observe such a code, and to comply with 
such a system. If the Bible do no more than this, it 
has in fact revealed nothing, for it only confirms and 
ratifies the religion of nature — the dictate of the natu- 
ral conscience, without putting men into a way whereby 
they may be restored to the favour of God, and have 
his image restamped on the soul. 

The Bible does in truth sanction and corroborate 
the religion of nature, but it does far more than this ; 
it reveals to us what the united intelligences of men and 
angels could not have discovered, the salvation of man 
by the mediation of Jesus Christ. An increasing ac- 
quaintance with this great doctrine, should be our chief 
aim in reading the Scriptures. It will be of no avail to 
know our danger, unless we know the remedy also: to 
be convinced of sin, to feel our moral depravity, and 
to read of the necessity of holiness, will only lead us 
to the borders of despair, unless we discover at the 
same time the means of pardon by the death of Christ, 
and the promise of renovation by the Holy Spirit. 

H 



50 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



The apostles desired to know nothing but 66 Jesus 
Christ, and him crucified;" they esteemed all things as 
loss, compared with the knowledge of Christ; they ac- 
counted the end of their ministry accomplished when 
they had declared " the testimony of God," by preach- 
ing Christ unto the people. To know him is to be wise 
unto salvation • to receive all that the Bible reveals con- 
cerning him, is a proof that we have renounced the wis- 
dom of the flesh, and have been taught by God. 

There are many things revealed concerning Christ, 
which are above our comprehension, which are opposed 
to our notions and ideas ; but we are not to reject what 
God has revealed, because we cannot fully understand 
it; this is absurd as well as impious. Our judgment 
in general corresponds very little with the Word of God, 
which is given to correct our judgment, and to instruct 
us in those things of which we are naturally ignorant, 
or but partially informed. 

If we are the creatures of God, we must be amenable 
to him, we must be subject to his power. The first 
law of our being is to submit ourselves to his guidance, 
and to supplicate his protection and blessing. If we 
have sinned against God, and lost his favour, we must 
receive pardon in whatever way he is pleased to grant 
it, — we must embrace such a Saviour as he hath been 
pleased to appoint. It is not for the guilty to dictate 
the terms of forgiveness. As the creatures of God, we 
are completely under his power and governance ; and 
as sinful creatures, we are entirely at his disposal, and 
dependant on his mercy and pity. u The prerogative 
of God comprehends the whole man. Wherefore as 
we are to obey God's law, though we find a reluctance 
in our will, so we are to believe his word, though we 
find a reluctance in our reason ; for if we believe only 
that which is agreeable to our reason, we give assent to 



01\ T THE HOLY SCRIPTURES* 



51 



the matter ) not to the author, which is no more than we 
should do towards a suspected and discredited witness."* 
But " if we receive the witness of men, the witness 
of God is greater." And the witness whic'i he hath 
testified of his Son — the doctrine of the person of Christ, 
is called the great mystery of Godliness ; and if it be 
called a mystery in that book wherein it is revealed, 
this alone should silence all our cavils and objections 
against it. 

He reads the Bible in a right manner, who reads that 
he may be instructed in those things whereby he may 
be saved : He has read the Bible to a right end, who 
has read it so as to find Christ, to know Christ, to de- 
sire to be found in him — accepted through his inter- 
cession — pardoned through the atonement made by his 
blood, and justified through the imputation of his per- 
fect righteousness. 

We may now endeavour to state some of the ad-* 
vantages to be derived from the study of the Bible. 

The only end of Revelation is the glory of God in 
the salvation of man. The cordial reception of the 
Bible fulfils this end. God is glorified when man is 
saved. Holy Scripture not only makes known a salva- 
tion by Jesus Christ, but also furnishes us with the most 
powerful motives to a holy life, and the most complete 
instructions for every branch of duty. If we take the 
Bible as our only guide, we shall be preserved from all 
that is erroneous in doctrine, and all that is wrong in 
practice. The best system of divinity is that which 
is compiled from the Scriptures, in Scriptural language* 
No doctrine ought to be received which has not Scrip- 
tural authority for its basis. He who studies his Bible 
most, is the best divine. Human interpretations often 
obscure the light of Divine truth. It is granted that 
* Lord Bacon, 



52 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



the greatest benefit is derived from perusing the medi- 
tations of those who have made the Bible their chief 
study ; but then every explanation and assertion should 
be tried by the Scriptures. If no appeal can be made 
to the Word of God in proof of any doctrine, it is 
plainly not of God, and must therefore be rejected. 

When we take the works of an uninspired writer into 
our hands, we feel a degree of distrust in receiving what 
he has affirmed, from a consciousness of his fallibility, 
and the possibility that he may be one who even lies in 
wait to deceive ; but when we take the Bible into our 
hands, we receive its message with unhesitating faith 
and place implicit confidence in all its statements. Its 
authority as being the Word of God, silences all ob- 
jections, and the conviction of its having been given by 
inspiration of God, removes every doubt and secret 
misgiving of the heart. The mind yields a ready as- 
sent to all its assertions, and acknowledges its Divine 
origin, by submitting every prepossession and prejudice, 
every conclusion of science, and all the pride of li- 
terature to its decision. 

To attain to a knowledge of the Truth, should be the 
great object of our pursuit. When the reception of 
any particular doctrines involves the most important 
consequences — even endless happiness or misery, we 
are inexcusable if we carelessly take up a groundless 
faith, and are able to give no reason for our assent. The 
Bible offers to us such doctrines, and at the same time 
invites the most rigid investigation. " Search the 
Scriptures." 

The christian religion has faith for its foundation, but 
it is not a religion which requires its followers to receive 
its dogmas with blind credence, to renounce their rea- 
son and understanding, and to acquiesce in a creed in 
opposition to the light of nature, and to the testimony 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



53 



of experience. The more the Bible is studied, the 
more its Divinity appears ; the more its doctrines are 
examined, the greater harmony is discovered ; the closer 
the comparison is made between its statements, and the 
condition of man, the more apparent is the exact suit- 
ableness of its discoveries to our wants and necessities. 

He that reads the Bible with humility and prayer, 
will know of every doctrine whether it be from God ; 
while he receives a rational faith, a faith whereby he 
may be saved, he will see more clearly the exceeding 
breadth, the immutable stability of the foundation on 
which that faith rests. Instruction will bring 1 confirma- 
tion, and he will be ready always, agreeably to Scrip- 
tural direction, u to give an answer to every man that 
asketh a reason of the hope that is in him." 

The religion of the Bible possesses this advantage in 
an eminent degree, that it brings perfect satisfaction to 
the mind. Nothing is more timid than guilt ; and the 
conscience of all men being wounded with an in- 
ward sense of guilt, and being under great apprehen- 
sion respecting a future state, they naturally look with 
anxiety for some means of expiation. The notion of a 
sacrifice to propitiate an angry God, is a universal sen- 
timent; the most unenlightened of the human race 
fear an invisible but angry power. The degradation of 
of man by sin, has implanted a sting in every bosom ; 
and the most cruel and preposterous rites are resorted to 
in order to appease the invisible Spirit, and to quiet the 
reproaches of conscience. But all the inventions of 
men in this way, leave the mind at last under the influ- 
ence of fear and doubt. An uncertainty whether the 
offering be accepted, whether it be of a nature agree- 
able to the Deity, whether it be made in a way that is 
pleasing to him, leaves the soul a prey to anxious so- 
licitude. It is here the Divinity of the Bible is most 



54 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES* 



apparent. The study of the Scriptures tends to remove 
every difficulty, to satisfy every doubt, to quiet every 
apprehension, to soothe the troubled mind, to ease the 
burthened conscience ; to bind up the broken heart, to 
still all anxious fears, to pour the balm into every wound, 
to calm the perturbed spirit, to fill the soul with hea- 
venly peace. 

The Scriptures should be read daily, because we are 
always exposed to the danger of imbibing error — of 
becoming remiss in our duty — of declining in our zeal — 
of falling away from the faith. Temptations surround 
us, and there is a disposition in every heart to meet 
temptation, to fall in with it. The evil is suited to our 
corrupt a Sections ; there is an agreement between the sin 
and the sinful nature; our depravity gives meetness to 
temptation, and our weakness gives it power. 

The Bible offers a defence against this danger, an 
antidote to this poison. The daily study of the Word 
of God, tends to keep alive the spirit of devotion in 
the heart, to keep the mind alert and watchful against 
the insidious attacks of sin, to prompt the conscience 
on the approach of danger, to urge us to flee on the 
very appearance of evil. 

When men grow careless, and omit reading the 
Scriptures, they are on the edge of danger. It may 
seem but a small thing to omit reading that book, which 
we have read so many times, — almost innumerable 
times ; but every omission weakens that principle, 
which the Scriptures are the means of producing in the 
soul, and which the study, — the constant, daily study 
of the Scriptures,is calculated to maintain and strengthen. 
" He that contemneth small things, shall fall by little 
and little." Of what consequence, says the flesh, is 
this little deviation from the strictness of the spiritual 
life. A worldly spirit is thus gradually brought over 



ON THE HOLV SCK1 PTU KIMS. 



55 



the soul, and spreads its benumbing influesjce over all 
its faculties. "To be carnally minded is death." 
There is no spiritual life, nor sensibility, nor vigour left 
to the soul ; it becomes unimpressed even by the Sword 
of the Spirit, the Word of God. The sword may 
pierce, but the wound is not felt. Deviations, trifling 
in themselves, but formidable by repetition, unnoticed 
by the world, and at length unfelt by the backslider, 
insensibly become habits : — every time the omission or 
commission is repeated, the impression becomes weaker, 
but the evil principle gains strength ; fear is lost, and at 
last a relish for the crooked ways of error is acquired. 
When sin becomes sweet, then is the time of great dan- 
ger. — This is to "fall from grace." Many are the 
Scriptural exhortations warning men against the en- 
croaching nature of sin. " Take heed lest there be in 
any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from 
the living God." " Exhort one another daily, lest any 
of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." 
" Beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of 
the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness." 

All the evils of this lukewarm state, of this drowsy 
condition of the soul, may be induced by a neglect of 
the Scriptures; while the daily study of them, will 
tend to keep off the fatal veil from the heart, to preserve 
the feet from being taken by the entangling snare, and to 
maintain the edge, if the expression may be used, of 
this Sword of the Spirit, that its efficacy may be con- 
stantly experienced, in slaying the enmity of the na- 
tural mind, and the love of sin in the soul. 

The way to life is described in Scripture, as a narrow 
way, and the entrance to it is a strait entrance. This 
straitness, and this narrowness have not proceeded from 
God. He is willing that all men should be saved ; he 
has sworn by his own existence, that he desires not the 



5(5 



O^i THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



death of a sinner, but rather that he should live ; the 
sin and depravity of man have narrowed the road to 
glory. Conviction of sin, repentance, a renuncia- 
tion of self-righteousness, and faith in Jesus Christ, form 
the strait door. Dependance on Divine grace, humility, 
meekness, self-denial, poorness of spirit, mark out the 
narrow way. The reason why so many miss this strait 
entrance, and are diverted from this narrow way, is that 
they forsake the guidance of the Holy Scriptures, and 
follow the illusive meteors of their own imagination. — 
The suggestions of a proud and depraved heart, are 
often mistaken by men for the dictates of reason ; and 
thus while they call themselves rational christians, they 
become opposers of the Word of God. Substituting 
" what thinkest thou ?"* for the more safe enquiry, " how 
readest thou ?" they turn from the narrow way of truth 
into the broad road of error ; there is no end of their 
wanderings ; their feet stumble on the dark mountains. 

Every deviation from the path of rectitude, makes the 
return more difficult. The soul, full of error, loathes 
the truth. The only means of finding the pathway 
that leadeth to life, is by searching- the Scriptures ; the 
only means of keeping in that path, is by giving at- 
tendance daily to the Sacred Revelation. 

Man is ignorant; Holy Scripture is profitable for 
"instruction in righteousness:" he is easily deluded, 
and "carried away by every wind" of error; the 
Scripture is profitable for "doctrine:' 1 he is prone to 
relax his diligence in the christian course, to grow 
lukewarm, to degenerate into a mere form of godliness, 
to lose all earnestness in securing his calling and election ; 
the Bible is profitable for "reproof:'* he is ever ready 
to turn aside from the ways of righteousness, to back- 
slide in heart, to become lax in conduct, to have slight 
* Dr. Chalmers. 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



57 



notions of sin, to be very tenacious of his profession of 
the knowledge of God, but in works to deny him ; the 
Word of God is profitable for " correction."''' 

Holy Scripture is profitable for " instruct 'io?? in righ* 
teousnes" The pride and ignorance of man, form an insu- 
perable obstacle in the way of his discovering his true con- 
dition as a sinner, and his relation to God as an account- 
able creature. The diligent reading of the Bible tends 
to remove this obstacle ; its statements abase human 
pride, and its revelations instruct the darkened mind. 
Religion has a foundation in the nature of man; but 
unless this principle be under the guidance of the hea- 
venly light, it will lead men into the grossest errors of 
superstition. We find the religion of savage nations, 
who have not received the Divine Revelation of the Bi- 
ble, to be a tissue of folly and of cruelty. Ceremonies 
the most puerile, and that could have resulted only from 
the natural ignorance of the human mind, prompted by 
the innate principle of religion, and offerings of the 
most cruel and revolting kind, and which have been de- 
vised by the natural depravity of man, are zealously 
observed with a notion of appeasing an angry Deity. 
A propitiation is felt to be necessary — to be indispen- 
sable; but of the nature of the sacrifice they are un- 
informed ; and thus the blood of human victims is com- 
mingled with that of beasts, and thousands of wretched 
men are immolated under the notion of procuring the 
favour of an unknown God, and averting the direful 
consequences of his indignation. 

Natural religion brings more worshippers to the devil, 
than to the true God. A guilty conscience, and a 
fear of the anger of an invisible Almighty Being, often 
lead men, in judging of the nature of the Deity, to 
form a notion of a powerful but malignant spirit, able 
to injure them, but indisposed to do them good. How 

i 



58 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



does the Divinity of the Bible shine out when contrasted 
with such unworthy — such blasphemous notions ! En- 
veloped in the thickest darkness of the shadow of deatli 
is every land, till illuminated by the glorious light of 
the Bible. The monstrous Dagons, the filthy Baalze- 
buls, fall before this Ark of the Covenant. The sa- 
tisfaction of truth is felt in the hearts of those who re- 
ceive the heavenly message. 

But while these evils flow from the want of a Divine 
Revelation, errors equally fatal, though not so foolish 
and absurd in their nature, and practices equally erro- 
neous, though not so disgusting and cruel, result from 
neglecting to derive every religious sentiment from the 
Word of God. In the former case, the Bible opposes 
the horrid rites of Moloch, and instructs men in the 
knowledge of the true God ; and in the latter, it com- 
bats the pride and self-righteous spirit of men. Men are 
still possessed with a notion of saving themselves in their 
own way, notwithstanding the Revelation of the Bible. 
They do not indeed become gross and cruel idolaters, 
but they refuse to glorify God, by submitting themselves 
to the way of salvation that is revealed in the Gospel. 
They take a part of their religion from the Scriptures, 
and the remainder is of human invention. — But as man 
is totally ignorant of Divine things till instructed by the 
light of Revelation, so is he furnished by Revelation 
with a knowledge of all things that are requisite to sal- 
vation. There is nothing left to be devised by man, so 
far as the spiritual nature of the worship of God is con- 
cerned ; and nothing is left unfinished in his redemption ; 
no meritorious part — not the smallest iota of satisfactory 
obedience, is to be accomplished by man. But it i s 
only the diligent and constant study of the Bible, that 
makes these things known to man. Without this, he 
may wander into the road of destruction, even with 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



59 



the Divine light in his possession ; and may remain ig- 
norant of the only way of deliverance, even while he 
has that Scripture which is " profitable for instruction." 

The enquirer after Divine truth is subject to fall into 
many mistakes, in consequence of the natural darkness 
of his understanding, and the depravity of his heart. 
It is a propensity to form some part of our religion for 
ourselves, that leads us astray ; men judge of God 
without the Bible, and form opinions also respecting 
themselves— their state — their attainments in religion^ 
without the standard and guide of Scripture. Many 
sincere christians are subject to tormenting doubts and 
fears, and anxiety, because they prove themselves and 
t ry their own character and condition, by some standard 
of their own invention, by some self-righteous principle? 
instead of applying to Scriptural marks and tests. Sin- 
cere persons often write bitter things against themselves, 
and charge the sin of hypocrisy on their consciences, in 
consequence of not sufficiently examining themselves 
by the Bible. 

Instruction in this point is as necessary to the comfort 
of a christian, as instruction in the knowledge of God, 
and of the means of redemption, is indispensable to the 
safety of men. The doubting christian deprives him- 
self of much enjoyment in religion, because of the 
weakness of his faith, the limited extent of his know- 
ledge, and the trembling character of his reliance on 
Christ. The " instruction" of the Bible tends to 
strengthen faith, by showing the security of the basis on 
which Scriptural faith rests — on the truth of God, and 
the perfect mediation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The 
study of the Scriptures gives solidity to the character, 
confirms hope, and establishes that faith through which 
men are made wise unto salvation. 

The church of God is founded on a rock;, the oath 



60 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



and promise of God are pledged for its security. " God 
is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved." But 
although truth shall never utterly fail from the church, 
yet many errors in doctrine, and many discrepances in 
practice, may obtain among those who have a name in 
the household of faith. " There is a river, the streams 
whereof shall make glad the city of God." This is the 
river of the water of life, gliding with a transparent 
stream, in a tranquil and uninterrupted course. But 
there are also lurbulent waters which grieve the city of 
God; there are the hasty torrent of fanaticism, the 
overwhelming flood of iniquity, and the sluggish and 
foul waters of indifference and lukewarmness. 

Instability is the characteristic of man ; as soon as 
the good seed is sown in his heart, then cometh the e- 
nemy, and finds ready admittance to sow tares also. 
There is so much unsubdued evil remaining in the minds 
of men, after they have received the " instruction" of 
the Holy Scriptures, that they are exposed to be driven 
from their steadfastness by every wind of error. Some 
plausible doctrines are held out to them, and multitudes 
are seduced from the truth ; some new opinion is offered 
to engage their attention, and attract by its novelty, — 
some sentiment is stated that is pleasing to the carnal 
mind, and many fall away to the enemy. The same 
inspired writer, who declared that " the foundation of 
God standeth sure," predicted also that a time should 
come, when men would not " endure sound doctrine." 

Holy Scripture is profitable for "doctrine;" but as 
soon as men cease to derive all their notions in religion 
from this source, they fall into innumerable errors. 
There is no spiritual light but that which proceedeth 
from the Word of God ; but when men close their eyes 
against this light, they will grope even at noon-day ; 
they must stumble and fall. 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



61 



It was the forsaking of the Scriptures as the only 
guide, which made way for the introduction of all the 
corruptions and absurdities that were admitted into the 
Romish church. Going back to the plain and evident 
statements of Scripture, produced the Reformation, 
which would doubtless have^reje^cted much that was re- 
tained, had the men who^aeteS that great and glorious 
work, been resolute in adhering to Scriptural au- 
thority, instead of yielding so much to the prejudices 
and passions of men. 

And to what cause can the present lamentable divi- 
sions in the church of God, be ascribed, but to the same 
neglect of Scripture, to follow after the doctrines of 
men. Whence come the " heap of teachers" that men 
have got to themselves, but from the " itching ears'* 
which cannot " endure sound doctrine." This has been 
the fruitful source from which have proceeded the innu- 
merable sects, into which the christian world has been torn 
by schism, and pride, and contention. 

There is " one faith, one baptism," says the great a- 
postle ; but, alas, where in the christian world shall we 
now look for this uniformity in belief and in practice ! 
u The unity of the Spirit" is broken. The sword of 
persecution hath indeed said, c Enough it is returned to 
its scabbard ; and christians have now become the ene- 
mies and persecutors of each other. Where is that 
mutual love, which was to be the characteristic of 
the disciples of Christ! O strange anomaly in the 
church of God, the flock worry and devour each other ! 
Instead of " forbearing one another in love," we see 
much recrimination and hatred ; each sect assumes in- 
fallibility to itself ; each party describes a little circle 
around its peculiar sentiments, and pronounces all to 
be in error, who are without the circumscribed pale. 
According as one saith, " I am of Paul," and another " I 



62 ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



am of Apollos," such is his reception among the fol- 
lowers of different leaders. 

Uniformity in discipline may be enjoined and enforced 
by laws and regulations ; but unanimity in doctrine, will 
never prevail till the Bible be made the standard of doc- 
ritne. We know that all parties profess to appeal 
to this book, as the standard of their faith ; but the great 
evil is, that men come to the Bible with preconceived 
notions, and having first settled and arranged the articles 
of their creed, they come to search in the Scriptures 
for authoriy to establish them. How many are there 
who leave the particular communion in which they were 
instructed, and go over to some other sect, being per- 
suaded by the reasoning and arguments of men, instead 
of taking the Bible for their sole guide and directory. 
Then, and not till then, shall men have u one heart and 
one way," when they shall submit to the dictates of the 
Inspired Volume, and yield their judgments and af- 
fections to the decisions of that Scripture which is pro- 
fitable for "doctrine;" when they shall try all new 
sentiments and opinions by the unerring standard of 
Divine Truth, and receive or reject them, according 
as they are conformable to, or inconsistent .with the 
Word of God. 

But it is not error only, which spreads many a snare 
for the feet of unstable man ; he is also prone to lose his 
ardour in Divine things, to " settle on the lees" of in- 
difference, to rest contented with the " form of godliness," 
while he remains destitute of the power. This may be 
the case, even while the Scriptures are regularly read ; 
because unless " mixed with faith," the Word is un- 
profitable. The form of reading the Bible, so far from 
preventing the deadly influence of lukewarmness, may 
have a tendency to lull the conscience, and to induce a 
morbid apathy over the soul. It is " taking heed" to 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. #3 



what is read, that makes the Scriptures profitable for 
"reproof ;" without this, which is the means by which 
the Spirit quickeneth, the soul is exposed to tire iu the 
heavenly race. The Sardians were reproved for the 
lukewarm state into which they had fallen, and in which 
they had merely a name to live, while they were spi- 
ritually dead ; and at the same time the way of recovery 
was pointed out to them ; " Remember, therefore, how 
thou hast received and heard." 

Animated by novelty, and satiated by repetition, we 
are much dependant for our character, on peculiar cir- 
cumstances. When men first set out in the ways of 
God, they "run well" for a time, but are soon hindered 
by a variety of causes ; the world ensnares and deceives 
them ; the enemy of souls avails himself of that prin- 
ciple in human nature, by which " passive impressions, 
by being repeated, grow weaker," and succeeds in 
causing men to leave their first love. The mistakes of 
superstition are not so much to be dreaded, as the fatal 
treachery of indifference. Sincerity is not incompatible 
with much ignorance and superstition ; but the life and 
power, all that is vital and important in religion, may 
be lost in the bowers of indolence, in the dreams of a 
sluggish state of soul. Men may thus go on smoothly to 
perdition, while they are looking for the inheritance 
which is given to those only, who, by faith and patience 
continue steadfast in the ways of God. A consciousness 
that religion was once an important concern, and the 
care of the soul, the one thing needful in our estimation, 
may lead us to form favourable opinions respecting our 
state, after we have ceased to feel the supreme importance 
of religion, and to follow after it as the chief good. 
There is much danger of self-deception here; the de- 
ceitfulness of our hearts, the vanities of the world, and 
the wiles of Satan, all conspire to give a false colouring 



64 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, 



to our motives and pursuits, and to make us partial 
judges in determining the question, "whose we are, and 
whom we serve," if at any time we are roused enough 
from our spiritual lethargy to make this a question. 

It is only by the "reproof" which the Scriptures ad- 
minister, that the mind is delivered from those silken 
cords of self-delusion, which, though finer than the 
chains that bind the open profligate and sinner, are not less 
firm and unyielding. The spell which holds the soul 
in durance, is broken by the mighty operation of the 
Word of God ; as soon as the heart is softened by 
prayer and humility, the entrance of the Scriptures 
giveth light ; error is detected ; worldly mindedness is 
removed ; i e veil is torn from the heart ; the spiritual 
life is marked by energy and vigour ; all the graces are 
strengthened ; and the soul is animated to press forward 
with alacrity, with circumspection, with zeal, with 
holy love. The christian, awakened from his long sleep 
of earthly mindedness, shakes off his dulness, and 
spurns his carelessness, and becoming more aware of 
the insinuating nature of sin, and of his own infirmities 
and depravity, he attains to a sensibility of mind which 
is alarmed at the very appearance of evil ; he fears lest 
an evil habit insensibly gain strength in his heart, and 
draw Ii im aside from the paths of righteousness. He 
invites the " reproof of the Bible, he courts the admo- 
nition of the righteous, it enters into his heart, and he 
becomes wiser; he is saved from being "hardened 
through the deceitfulness of sin." 

To feel lukewarm in the ways of God, and to turn 
aside from them, — to forget the precepts of God, and 
to violate them, — to have slight feelings of the evil of 
sin, and to fall into the open commission of it, are so 
nearly allied, that he who yields to the influence of one, 
can scarcely escape the dominion of the other. It is 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



65 



the natural progress of sin, to go on from small and al- 
most imperceptible deviations, to open and confirmed 
iniquity. If the enemy succeed in inducing a spirit of 
carelessness and indifference over the heart, men become 
an easy prey to his wiles; and from being the mere 
nominal servants of God in heartless services, they end 
in being his enemies by wicked works. 

In this state of the soul, it commonly happens that a 
man is more tenacious than ever of a form of godliness ; 
having lost its life and power, he is desirous of retaining 
at least the appearance of religion; and he does not 
become a backslider in practice, till many struggles 
have taken place between sin and the conscience. His 
conscience condemns what his heart secretly loves. 
Here is an evident want of sincerity. There is a con- 
stant strife in such a man's bosom, between conscience 
and inclination — between a conviction of the error of 
ills ways, and an attachment to those ways — between a 
knowledge of the consequences of sin, and a depraved 
inclination, which has gained strength by indulgence 
in evil. 

Who can tell whither the first departure from God 
may lead ! The backslider first allows sin in his heart, 
and then he loses all defence or security against its far- 
ther inroads. He does not at once give up the desire 
of heaven ; but his love of the heavenly world as a state 
of sinless perfection, as well as of happiness, degenerates 
into a mere desire of escaping the punishment of hell ; 
and at last his highest aim is to be scarcely saved; there- 
fore he retains as much of the world as he can, and fol- 
lows its courses and pleasures, just so far as not to ex- 
clude himself (as he fancies) from heaven at last. 

The very root of all departure from God, consists in 
a vain endeavour to reconcile the service of God and 
the pursuits of the world, — to unite the " durable riches," 

K 



66 



OS THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



and the "unrighteous mammon," — to blend time with 
eternity, — to make earth and heaven a common object, — 
to expecl heaven as an end, while the world is the sole 
pursuit of our lives. The backslider in heart thinks he 
can attain the art of reconciling these opposite pursuits 
and of bringing together heaven and earth ; he imagines 
that he has discovered the true proportions which may 
be assigned to each, and thinks he has drawn a line be- 
tween safety and danger. Alas! how soon does he 
overstep this line, and descend without a guide into the 
broad road of destruction ! 

And can he who just before walked with delight in 
the narrow way of life, find any pleasure in treading the 
faithless path of iniquity ! He has forsaken the Word 
of God, and therefore his perceptions are deadened ; 
his conscience becomes seared and destitute of feeling ; 
he has left off to compare the abiding pleasantness and 
peace of wisdom's ways, with the turbulent pleasures 
of sin, which are but for a season ; he can scarcely 
distinguish between the husks of the world, and the 
fruits of Canaan. 

Wherewithal, then, shall he cleanse his way ? By 
taking heed thereto according to God's word. " I 
thought on my ways," says David, and "turned my 
feet unto thy testimonies." Holy Scripture is profitable 
for "correction." The Word of God alone can re- 
produce conviction in the mind, and raise the soul from 
the death-like influence of a state of departure from 
God. A s soon as the backslider returns unto the u sound 
wisdom" of the Scriptures, they become health to his 
spirit ; he remembers whence he is fallen, and repents, 
and does his first works : he has tasted the bitterness of 
being filled with his own ways, and now he comes to 
God with weeping and with supplication, saying, u l 
have gone astray like a lost sheep ; seek thy servant, 
tor I do not forget thy commandments." 



ON THE HOLT SCRIPTURES. 



67 



Thus we see that the end of Revelation, is to instruct 
men in the "things that accompany salvation." The 
Bible is the only medium of communication with God : 
it alone gives us any satisfactory account of the original 
condition of man, of his fall to the present state of de- 
gradation in which he is found, and of his future ex- 
pectations. The mind originally formed to move in a 
more exalted sphere, and destined for more exalted 
pleasures than this earth can yield, finds its true place 
pointed out, and its high destination ascertained only 
in the Bible. All men have departed from God ; they 
are all gone out of the way ; the Bible reveals the means 
by which they may be restored to God, and brought 
back into the paths of life. They have lost their up- 
rightness, and have become the vassals of Satan ; the 
Bible reveals the method of recovering the image of 
God, and of being set free from the bondage of sin, and 
of being made the servants of God. — They have become 
enemies of God by wicked works, " they are together 
become unprofitable, there is none that doeth good, no 
not one ;" the Bible reveals the way of reconciliation by 
the mediation of Christ, and the means of sanctification 
and obedience by the influence of the Holy Spirit. 
They are in danger from "spiritual wickednesses," from 
the "power of darkness," and are "of their own nature 
inclined to evil," and to backslide from the ways of 
God and of holiness ; the Bible supplies them with hea- 
venly armour ; and by exhortation, and warning, and 
expostulation, and threatening, and promises of pardon, 
calls them out of the " world which lieth in wickedness," 
animates them in the christian course, teaches them to 
turn aside from the evil way, recals them when they 
have wandered, and seals the blessings of pardon on 
their souls; and thus " the man of God" becomes " per- 
fect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 



68 



ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 



In the Holy Scriptures may be found instructions 
suited to every condition, to every gradation of intellect. 
Here are " the deep things of God/' "hard to be utter- 
ed," for those "that are of full age;" and the "first 
principles of the oracles of God," for those that are " un- 
skilful in the Word of righteousness." Here are mys- 
teries which the mind of an angel cannot fathom, and 
plain truths suited to the comprehension of the meanest 
capacity. " Un agneau y marche, et elle est en merae 
temps assez profonde qu'un elephant puisse y nager." 
The Bible reveals subjects which the " angels desire to 
look into;" and it furnishes matter for praise even "out 
of the mouth of babes and sucklings." Kings, and 
princes, and nobles, may here derive wisdom to reign 
and to decree justice; and subjects maybe instructed 
to yield due obedience to "the higher powers." The 
rich may learn to "do good," to be "rich in good 
works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;' 
and the poor to seek " godliness with contentment." In 
affliction the heart may be taught to pray, and may find 
support ; and in the time of prosperity, a song of praise 
be put into the mouth. Patience may be derived under 
every trial ; deliverance in the time of temptation ; 
Divine joy under earthly sorrow ; heavenly hope amidst 
worldly disappointments. In times of fear, here is a 
sure trust ; in the season of perplexity, here is a sure 
direction ; in the hour of danger, here is a sure refuge ; 
in life here is an unerring guide, and in death a never- 
failing stay and consolation. 

In fine, — The diligent and constant study of the 
Scriptures, is the only way to be preserved from errors ; 
to be led into the way of truth ; to attain correct notions 
respecting God and ourselves ; to discern enough of the 
evil of sin, to humble us, and enough of the dangerous 
state of the sinner, to lead us to Christ, — to discover 



OIV THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 69 

the preciousness of his salvation — the riches of Divine 
grace — the freeness and bountifuiness of the mercy of 
God — the nature of religion — the necessity of sancti- 
fication by the Holy Spirit, as well as justification by 
the imputed righteousness of the Redeemer ; to be up- 
held in the paths of righteousness ; to be guided by the 
true light which shineth from heaven ; to be led into the 
way of peace; to have the heart established in grace; 
to be built up in the holy faith of the Gospel ; to wax 
stronger and stronger in the faith; to be enabled to 
overcome our spiritual adversaries ; to go on our way 
rejoicing; to live in the enjoyment of Divine comfort, 
and under the guidance of Divine teaching ; and to die 
in the possession of everlasting consolation and good 
hope through Grace. 



ESSAY II. 



OJY THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

God does nothing in vain. He always adapts 
the means to the end that is to be obtained. No useless 
machinery is employed, nothing is introduced merely 
to give effect. He stretches not forth his omnipotent 
arm without an adequate cause. He stands not in need 
of showy parade and splendour to declare his glory, 
but rests on the infinity, and majesty, and perfection of 
his Being. The creation of the world might, doubtless, 
have been effected in various ways, and by other means 
than those which were used : he might have employed 
other agents— the angels, to construct this beautiful 
fabric; but it seemed most agreeable to the Divine wis- 
dom to speak — to command all things into being. 

When man fell from his obedience, and Satan seemed 
to have disconcerted the plans of the Almighty, and to 
have brought irretrievable ruin and disorder into the 
new creation, God resolved to bring glory to himself 
by rescuing his works from the destroyer, and by over- 
turning the kingdom and power of darkness. This 
was to be done in a way which no created being could 
have devised, and by an agent which creation could not 
furnish. As God created man, so also was he the Re- 
deemer of man. He did not create by a delegated or 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



71 



deputed power, nor did he redeem by any such means. 
He performed the whole work of creation, and he is 
also the sole agent in redemption. Besides, is not the 
work of redemption greater than that of creation ? How 
then could it be effected by a weaker power, by an in- 
ferior agent ? In creation, " God spake and it was done, 
he commanded and it stood fast." Every thing moved 
in obedient harmony to the Divine command. The 
allegiance of man was secured by the observance of an 
easy precept ; and the supremacy of God was enforced 
by the threat of a heavy punishment. 

When man had dared to set the Almighty at defiance, 
to distrust his power, and to doubt his word, — then 
began the apparent conflict between the mercy and the 
judgment of God; — between his love, which prompted 
him to rescue lost man, and his truth which called on 
him to execute the sentence denounced against the of- 
fender. — Mercy pleaded for pardon and restoration : 
Justice demanded the infliction of punishment, or a full 
satisfaction. — Here is the difficulty of redemption. 

The plan of introducing sin into the world, and. 
thereby counteracting the designs, and subverting the 
works of God, was the master-piece of Satan's accursed 
malignity, and hellish cunning. It was a device which 
promised, if we may so speak, to overcome Omnipotence 
itself. It was a craft which seemed above even the wis- 
dom of God. 

Let not bold infidelity object here, that the entrance 
of sin should have been prevented, — that no passage 
should have been left unguarded. Infinite wisdom must 
reside with the Deity ; and therefore no error or defi- 
ciency can possibly be found in his works. The fall 
of man must have been foreseen by God ; for the sal- 
vation of man was in the eternal purposes of his counsel. 
But "vain man would be wise; in his arrogance he 



72 



OX THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



would correct the works of his Maker, and instruct 
Omniscience ! 

Respecting the origin of evil, the Scriptures 
give us no further information than this, "an enemy 
hath done it." It is in vain that we perplex our- 
selves with this most excruciating question : after all 
the conjectures and hypotheses of speculative men, — 
after all the elaborate disquisitions and persevering in- 
vestigations of the most penetrating minds, we can come 
to no other conclusion than the one already afforded us, 
namely, " an enemy hath done it." 

God cannot be the author of sin. From him cometh 
only that which is good and perfect. All the works of 
God which we behold were originally without blemish ; 
sin has brought disorder into the creation, and disfigured 
the works of the Almighty. This evil must therefore 
have proceeded at first from some source unconnected 
with the Fountain of all good ; and as it could not have 
entered without the permission of God, it follows ne- 
cessarily that his perfections will be thereby glorified ; 
inasmuch as his own glory is the end of all the admi- 
nistration of the Deity. 

What know we of the constitution of that part of 
nature, with which we are most intimately connected ? 
What know we of the nwde of our own being ? Is not 
every thing around us, and within us, a mystery which 
we cannot fathom ? And shall we dare to arraign the 
mighty and comprehensive purposes of the infinite God, 
before the tribunal of our feeble light of reason ! 

Mystery there must be in a revelation of the will of 
God. Can a finite being comprehend infinity ? Or a 
limited capacity receive illimitable knowledge? Can 
our confined faculties compass the " secret things" of 
God? Or our contracted powers go along, and keep 
pace with the Divine Intelligence? — The question to 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



73 



be asked on reading the Word of God, is not, " How 
can these things be ?" but, u Are these things so ?" We 
must not seek to know the reason of the truths of In- 
spiration, but to regulate our conduct by them, — not to 
comprehend but to adore. 

It is this impious daring of measuring things above 
their grasp, and rejecting what they cannot comprehend, 
that has led many to controvert the Word of Truth, or 
to explain away its clearest statements. It is on this 
mistaken principle that the Socinians reject the doctrine 
of the Divinity of Christ. They take reason instead 
of Revelation for their guide ; and because they cannot 
reconcile the Deity of Jesus with their rational notions 
(so they call them) of religion, they are determined to 
have a Bible which shall say nothing respecting this of- 
fensive doctrine ; and accordingly every passage which 
asserts it, and every text which supports it, is in their 
judgment an interpolation, or a mis-translation. And 
every thing is brought to the test of their own measure ; 
what does not comport with this, is strained or lopped 
off. The counsel of God which hath been from eternal 
ages, is new modelled by them ; a Revelation which is 
to instruct man in things, of which he could by no other 
means be informed, is scrutinized by them, and altered 
or rejected as suits their notions of what a revelation 
from God should be. 

By taking away the Divinity of the Saviour from the 
Bible, men put out that light which alone can illuminate 
the sacred page; and thus "they grope in the dark 
without light." By taking away this doctrine they re- 
move that corner-stone which supports the whole system 
of Christianity, and it becomes to them, u a stone of 
stumbling, and a rock of offence." If the New Tes- 
tament be received as the expositor of the Old, — if it be 
admitted as a revelation from God ; [as the testimony 

L 



74 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



of men who " wrote as they were moved by the Holy 
Ghost," then the Deity of the Redeemer must necessarily 
be admitted also. And therefore those who deny Divine 
honour to the Saviour, find themselves under the ne- 
cessity of rejecting or wresting many parts of the New 
Testament, in which this doctrine is plainly advanced. 

Socinians wish to be called Unitarians, though this 
appellation cannot properly be restricted to them; for 
Trinitarians, as they are called, are also Unitarians ; — 
they believe in the unity of the Godhead ; — they receive 
and maintain, "the first of all commandments," viz. 
" The Lord our God is one Lord." And when they 
maintain the Deity of Christ, they do not set forth other 
Gods. With them there is but one God ; but they un- 
derstand the Scripture as revealing him to us in a three- 
fold character, Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter; 
and in each of these characters, he is mentioned by a 
distinct appellation, the Father, the Lord J esus Christ, 
and the Holy Ghost. As the Father, he hath loved us, 
and chosen us in Christ J~ esus ; by whom we are re- 
deemed ; and whose salvation is effectually made known 
and applied to us by the Holy Spirit. 

We apprehend this to be "the faith which was once 
delivered unto the saints." It is a doctrine indeed far 
above the comprehension of man, for how can a finite 
creature understand the nature of an infinite Being ! 
The mind must be spiritually illuminated, before it can 
admit "the things of God ;" for we read that the natural 
man receiveth them not; that they are foolishness to 
him, and that he cannot know them, because they are 
spiritually discerned. And among these "things of 
God," is the knowledge of the person of Christ, con- 
cerning which the Scripture informs us " that no man 
can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." 
Let those who oppugn this doctrine ? seriously consider 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



75 



the inference which must be deduced from an assertion 
so expressly stated. If we can establish from Scripture 
the doctrine of the Deity of our Saviour, the same 
Scripture authorises us to conclude that all who deny 
this doctrine have received " the spirit of the world," 
and not "the spirit which is of God;" and "if any 
man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his." 

That there is a God may be known from the works 
of the creation; but while these works display the be- 
ing, wisdom, goodness and power of God, they are pro- 
foundly and everlastingly silent on the grand subjects 
of the Scriptures : the knowledge of God, of his cha- 
racter, nature, perfections, and purposes, must be 
communicated by Revelation ; and a Revelation from 
God necessarily implies something above reason, which 
cannot be comprehended by it, and must be received 
and obeyed by faith. Therefore they err who try the 
statements of Scripture by their reason, and reject all 
that they cannot comprehend. It is a trite but true re- 
mark, that there are many things in the Bible above 
reason, but none contrary to reason. To read the Bible 
profitably, we must compare spiritual things with spi- 
ritual. The things which the Holy Ghost teacheth, are 
to be received with faith, to be studied with humility 
and teachableness, to be spoken of with reverence, and 
not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth. 

If a doctrine be plainly stated in Scripture, that is a 
sufficient warrant for us to receive it ; for if the Bible 
be the Word of God, then all the doctrines it contains 
must be true. Now we apprehend that the Divinity of 
Christ is there fully stated. "Search the Scriptures," 
said our Lord, " for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life, and they are they which testify of me." The 
Scriptures here alluded to, were of course those of the 
Old Testament, that is the things " which were written 



76 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the 
Psalms concerning Jesus." But we have also the 
Scriptures of the New Testament, in addition to the 
" more sure word of prophecy." Let us then 66 compare 
spiritual things with spiritual," and see what is testified 
in the Word of God concerning Christ; — 

First, — With respect to the Name by which he 
is named, " The Lord." 

Secondly, — In regard to his eternity. 

Thirdly, — In reference to his appearing in the 

FLESH, AND HIS EXALTATION. 

Fourthly, — In relation to his second coming, 

AND HIS FUTURE KINGDOM AND GLORY. 

First,— What are we to understand by the term " the 
Lord," which is applied to Christ, in many parts of 
the Scriptures ? 

The word Lord, so frequently employed in the New 
Testament to designate Jesus Christ, is synonymous 
with the same word used in the Old Testament, to denote 
the Supreme and Eternal God. In the original Hebrew 
it is J ehovah, and may be so read whenever the En- 
glish word Lord is printed in capital letters. 

Now this name Jehovah is a title exclusively ap- 
plied to God ; it is the incommunicable name ; a name 
that can never be given to an inferior being. It denotes 
an indivisible essence ; it expresses an eternity of ex- 
istence; and must therefore belong solely to Him who 
was, and is, and is to come, the one Eternal, and Self- 
Existent I AM. This name, however, we find to be 
applied indifferently to God, and to Jesus Christ. — 
St. Paul declares his confidence that "the Lord would 
preserve him unto his heavenly kingdom ; that is, the 
kingdom of Jesus Christ; and David says that "the 
Lord (Jehovah) is king for ever." The re- 
deemed in heaven cast their crowns before the throne* 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 77 



saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord" (Christ;) and 
in the Psalms it is said, "The Lord's (Jehovah's) 
throne is in heaven." 

Of the Redeemer it was prophesied that he should be 
a king ; and when Isaiah saw his vision of the Lord 
(Jehovah) in his glory, [which is declared to 
have been a vision of the glory of Christ,] he said, 
"Mine eyes have seen the king;" and "who is this 
king of glory ? The Lord (Jehovah) of Hosts, he is 
the king of glory." 

Christ is said to be our righteousness ; and this righte- 
ousness is repeatedly called in Scripture, " the righte- 
ousness of God," And of the Saviour it was declared in 
prophecy, that he should be called " The Lord (Je- 
hovah) our righteousness;" and that of him men 
should say, " Surely, in the Lord (Jehovah) have 
I righteousness." And again, " In the Lord (Jehovah) 
shall all the seed of Israel be justified." 

David prayed in his affliction and said, " O my God, 
take me not away in the midst of my days ; thy years 
are throughout all generations ; of old hast thou laid 
the foundations of the earth, &c." and in the epistle to 
the Hebrews, this address is said to have been made to 
the Son ; thus ascribing to Christ the title of Creator; 
And in the prophetical writings of Isaiah we read, that 
the " Everlasting God, the Lord" (Jehovah,) is 
" the Creator of the ends of the earth." 

When our Lord gave a commission to his Apostles to 
go forth and teach all nations, he commanded that they 
should baptize men "in the name (not names) of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. — And 
the form of the apostolic benediction is thus expressed, 
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love 
of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be 
with you all;" so that when David invoked the blessing 



78 



ON THE Dili TY OF CHRIST. 



of the Lord, saying, "The name of the God of Jacob 
defend thee," he did in fact pronounce the same bene- 
diction which was used in after-ages by the apostles. 
The name of Christ is said to be a more excellent name 
than that of the angels; "a name which is above every 
name;" even that of "King of Kings, and Lord of 
Lords." 

When Moses beheld that great sight in the wilderness, 
the busli burning with fire and not consumed, the Lord 
(Jehovah,) revealed himself by a new name, say- 
ing, in reply to the question of Moses, what he should 
answer unto the children of Israel, when interrogated 
as to the author of his mission unto them, " Thus shalt 
thou say to the children of Israel^ I Am hath sent me 
unto you." And we read that when the Jews were ca- 
villing in the days of our Lord against his Divine Au- 
thority, " Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say 
unto you, before Abraham was I Am ;" thus adopting 
the very terms in which the Lord (Jehovah) had 
aforetime commanded his Name to be proclaimed. 

Saint Paul declares that the Israelites tempted Christ 
w hen they murmured in the wilderness ; and by the pun- 
ishment which he mentions as having been inflicted on 
them, viz. the destruction by serpents, we are enabled 
to refer to the particular instance of rebellion in the his- 
tory of their wanderings. See Numb. xxi. 5, 6, where 
it is said that " the people spake against God," and that 
"the Lord (Jehovah) sent fiery serpents among the 
people ;" and after their repentance, they confessed 
their sin, and said, " We have sinned, for we have 
spoken against the Lord (Jehovah.") 

The title of Jehovah, is given to the Messiah by 
the prophets in various passages of their writings; — 
" Behold the Lord God will come with a strong hand, 
and his arm shall rule for him; behold his reward is 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 79 

with him and his work before him." This is a prophecy 
of the coming of Christ to judgment; and it is so ap- 
plied by our Lord when at the close of the vision of 
Saint John, he said, " Behold I come quickly, and my 
reward is with me." — Again, " Thus saith the Lord 
thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord 
thy God;" and 'f I will have mercy on the house of 
J udah, (God is represented as speaking) and will save 
them by the Lord (Jehovah) their God." Here 
the Saviour is plainly declared to be the Lord. " Lo, 
I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the 
Lord (Jehovah) and thou shalt know that the Lord 
of Hosts hath sent me unto thee." This is very 
remarkable language ; the Lord speaks of being sent 
by himself. His own arm brought salvation, when there 
was none to help the guilty sons of men, he became the 
author and finisher of their deliverance. " All things 
are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus 
Christ : God was in Christ reconciling the world unto 
himself." 

The prophets ever ascribed their predictions, and de- 
nunciations, and words of consolation to God. The au- 
thority with which they delivered their message, proceed- 
ed from a conviction that they if spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost." The general preface to every 
declaration is, "the Word of the Lord (Jehovah) 
came unto me saying." And in the Revelation 
of Saint John, Jesus declares that by his inspiration and 
authority, the prophets deliyered their message. " The 
Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angels to show 
unto his servants the things which must shortly be done." 
" I Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these 
things." By his inspiration the prophets of old 
foretold things to come. " The Lord (Jehovah) 
hath hid it from me," said Elisha respecting the child 



80 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



of the Shunammite. And the same inspiration was given 
by Christ to the writers of the New Testament; he 
promised to send them the Comforter, who should teach 
them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance, 
whatsoever he had said unto them. 

We shall cite but one more instance of the application 
of the Name Jehovah to Christ; it is found by 
comparing the language of God in the Old Testament, 
with that of Christ in the New Testament. The God 
of Israel, the Lord (Jehovah) expostulates with 
his people, and says, "Hearken unto me, O Jacob, 
and Israel, my called, I am he, I am the first, I also 
am the last ;" and in the Revelation, the Son of man 
appropriates this language of Jehovah to himself, 
and saith to the favoured disciple who saw heaven open- 
ed, " Fear not, I am the first and the last." 

Secondly, — What is the testimony of Scripture con- 
cerning the eternal existence of Christ. 

"In the beginning was the Word," that is Christ, See 
Rev. xix. 13. "He is before all things." "Jesus 
Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." 
" I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, 
saith the Lord, (Christ,) which is, and which was, and 
which is to come, the Almighty." — Wisdom or the 
Word affirms concerning himself, that he " was set 
up from everlasting," and that " the Lord (Je- 
hovah) possessed" him " in the beginning of his 
way," thereby declaring the indivisibility of the God- 
head, subsisting in an ineffable union of persons. 

Among the names which prophecy gave to the Mes- 
siah, is this, "The Everlasting Father;" and Christ 
himself affirmed that he was without " beginning of 
days," when he said to the Jews, " Verily, verily, I 
say unto you, before Abraham was, I AM;" thus 
claiming independent, eternal, unchangeable existence; 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



81 



When the prophet Micah foretold the birth-place of 
Christ, he spoke of his eternal existence, affirming that 
his "goings forth have been from of old, from ever- 
lasting ;" and St. Paul bears his testimony to the same 
truth, when he describes Melchisedec, that mysterious 
personage, who was a type of Christ, as " having nei- 
ther beginning of days, nor end of life ; but made like 
unto the Son of God." 

He that created all things must have existed from 
everlasting, and the work of creation is ascribed to 
Christ.— None, we suppose, will deny that the Crea- 
tor must be God, but the Scriptures tell us that Christ 
was the Creator, and therefore God. " Lord thou hast 
been our dwelling-place in all generations. Before the 
mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst 
formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting 
to everlasting thou art God." And in the book of the 
prophet Isaiah, the " Creator of the ends of the earth," 
is said to be, u the everlasting God, the Lord." 
Again, " Thus saith the Lord that created the heavens, 
God himself that formed the earth, and made it." That 
this Creator was Jesus, may be seen by comparing the 
following passages from both Testaments. " In the be- 
ginning God created the heaven and the earth." " All 
things were made by him," (by the Word or Christ. ) 
" Thus saith the Lord the Holy One of Israel, and 
his Maker, I have made the earth, and created man 
upon it." " By him (Christ) were all things created 
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible, and 
invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or prin- 
cipalities or powers ; all things were created by him and 
for him.'' 

In the opening of the Epistle to the Hebrews, God 
is represented as speaking to us in the Gospel by his 
Son, and then the person and glory of the Son are de- 

M 



82 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



dared to be one with the person and glory of the Father ; 
and the words of David are introduced and explained 
as being addressed to Christ, in which his Eternity and 
Godhead are acknowledged ; — 66 Unto the Son he saith, 
' Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever' ;" and " Thou, 
Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of 
the earth, &c." 

Thus we find the Scriptures of both Testaments con- 
curring in ascribing to Christ an essential property of 
the Deity, eternal and independent existence ; and also 
giving to him the glory which must exclusively belong 
to God, that of being the Creator of all things, both 
in heaven and on earth. " Let all the angels of God" 
then " worship him ;" let " every creature which is in 
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and 
such as are in the sea, and all that are in them," say, 
"Blessing, honour, glory, and power, be unto him 
that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for 
ever and ever !" 

Thirdly, — What is said in Scripture of Christ , in re- 
ference to his appearing in the flesh, and his exaltation. 

So destructive of all moral power was the fall of Adam, 
that no one of his descendants could deliver himself 
from the dominion of sin, or from the punishment due 
to it. An Omnipotent Arm alone could rescue him. 
God alone could supply an offering of sufficient value 
to atone for the infinite evils resulting from sin; and it 
was among the secret things of God how this was to be 
effected. A mediator was to be constituted between God 
and man, in such a way that both the wisdom and pow- 
er of God might be displayed; and while salvation was 
provided for the guilty sons of men, none of the per- 
fections of the Deity might suffer. Man must be re- 
conciled to God, and for this purpose God must be ma- 
nifested in the flesh. The Deity is impassible, and 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 83 



could not therefore endure the punishment denounced 
against the transgression of man ;* it became necessary 
that he should take upon him our nature, and by an 
inexplicable union of Divinity and humanity in one 
person, be made an offering for sin ; thus conferring by 
the dignity and perfection of his Godhead, an infinite 
yalue on the sufferings and obedience of his manhood, 
and in the sinning nature making an atonement for sin. 

The Christ must be truly and properly man, that he 
might be capable of suffering in our stead ; and he must 
be truly and properly God, that perfection might be 
stamped on his atonement, to render it meritorious, and 
to purchase the redemption of a world. 

Let us then see what the Scripture testifies concerning 
the union of these natures in the person of Jesus Christ. 

The first recorded promise of the Messiah is that 
which God made to our first parents immediately after 
the fall; viz. that the seed of the woman shall bruise the 
serpent's head. This is an evident prediction of the 
manhood of the Messiah ; and it was accomplished 
" when the fulness of time was come," and "God sent 
forth his Son made of a woman." 

Moses declared to the Israelites by the spirit of pro- 
phecy, that the Lord would raise up unto them a pro- 
phet from the midst of them; and this prophecy is in- 
terpreted by Saint Peter as referring to Christ. See 
Acts iii. 

The prophet Isaiah is often called the evangelical 
prophet, because he predicted in a circumstantial man- 
ner, the birth of Christ, and the name by which he 
should be called ; his state of humiliation, his rejection 
by the Jews, his death and burial. And the prophet 
Hosea foretold his resurrection. Compare Hos. vi. % 
and 1 Cor. xv. 4. 

* "Solus Deus sentire, solus homo superare mortem mm 
potuit, quam pro nobis obire debuit." 



84 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



In the books of the Evangelists, which record the 
circumstances attendant on the whole life and ministry 
of Christ, we find every property of our nature ascribed 
to him ; and the whole narration shows him to have been 
subject to every sinless infirmity, and to all the sorrow 
incident to our fallen state. Again, all the attributes 
and perfections of Deity are ascribed to and claimed by 
him. The prophets who foretold his appearance in the 
flesh, in the days of his humiliation, spake also of his 
essential glory. Isaiah predicted that " a man," (re- 
ferring to the Messiah,) should be "as a hiding-place," 
and "a covert." And in another passage of his pro- 
phecy, he declares the dignity of the Godhead of this 
Saviour, saying " His Name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace." If " The Mighty God," be one of 
the names of Christ, he must be truly and properly God, 
for his Name is incommunicable to a creature : " Thus 
saith God the Lord — I am the Lord, that is my name 
and my glory will I not give to another. 1 ' If the Mesr 
siah be also u The Everlasting Father," who shall deny 
him the essential properties of the Deity ? 
, We have already seen that the work of creation is as- 
cribed to Jesus, and that the titles given to him include 
every name peculiar to the Deity ; and if we carry our 
inquiry farther, we shall find that every perfection of 
the Godhead resides in him. 

He is Omnipotent. " All power is given unto me in 
heaven and in earth," said the Redeemer to his disciples 
after his resurrection. — He is Omniscient. " He knew 
all men, and needed not that any should testify of man . 
for he knew what was in man." He knows the secret 
thoughts and purposes of the heart ; " Lord, thou know- 
est all tilings," said Peter when interrogated by him re? 
specting the sincerity of his attachment. " I am he," 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



85 



said Jesus in the Revelation, 66 who searcheth the reins 
and hearts. " — He is Omnipresent. " Where two or three 
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the 
midst of them." 

The providential administration of the world is as- 
cribed to him. — Job in an impassioned address to God, 
calls on him as the " Preserver of men." The Psalmist 
in a noble hymn of praise, in which he traces the steps 
of Providence, ascribes the fall riches of the earth, 
and the wonders of the deep to the hand of the Almighty. 
The prophet Isaiah in a sublime description of the Om- 
nipotence of God, recognises his irresistible power as 
governing all nations, spreading out the heavens, and 
marshalling the shining hosts of the skies. And the 
inspired writers of the New Testament attribute all 
these works and operations to the Saviour. " By him 
all things consist." He reigns in heaven, " upholding 
all things by the word of his power." He governs the 
earth by a " sceptre of righteousness." He is the 
Lord of the unseen world, holding in his hand, " the 
keys of hell and of death." Universal nature is sus- 
pended on his will. " He giveth breath unto the people 
that are upon the earth, and spirit to them that walk 
therein." If he withhold his supporting energy, if he 
withdraw his hand, we should all return immediately to 
our dust ; all created existence would cease ; all nature 
would expire. The whole order of being depends on 
" the word of his power." The meanest reptile en- 
joys its existence, being supplied by his unwearied pro- 
vidence ; all the beasts that roam abroad on the face of 
the earth are supported by his bounty; "the young 
lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from" 
him. " The earth is full of" his " riches," and " so is 
the great and wide sea." Man is the favoured object 
of his richest blessings ; for him he left the high heaven, 



86 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



and became a " man of sorrow, and one that had ex- 
perience of infirmities for him " he was wounded, and 
bruised," and " oppressed 1 ' and " afflicted;" for him he 
gave his "back to the smiters," and "hid not his face 
from shame and spitting for him he toiled, and fasted, 
and agonized, and was tempted, and for him he died. 
Angels and archangels also live and are blessed in him. 
It is his air that we breathe; by his bounty we are 
clothed ; every beating pulse attests his supporting hand ; 
every enjoyment of which we partake points us to him 
as the source of all blessedness ; his unseen arm upholds 
us 5 he spreads over us his banner of love ; the shield 
of his ever-present defence, is as a thousand bucklers 
around us ; he that keepeth us neither slumbereth nor 
sleepeth ; he is our shade upon our right hand ; he 
preserves our going out and our coming in ; truly, " our 
help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and 
earthy He holdeth the world in the hollow of his 
hand ; all the vast orbs of our system are managed by 
his arm ; and he sustains the apparently interminable 
systems of worlds which surround us. His power and 
influence are felt from this earth to the nethermost parts 
of creation — in heaven and in hell. 

How safe then are his people ! None can pluck them 
out of his hands. He will keep from every destructive 
evil those on whom he designs to bestow eternal life. 
They cannot sink who are upheld by Omnipotence. 
No sudden evil can surprise them who are guarded by 
Omniscience. None can remove them from his care 
who is Omnipresent. They cannot perish who are pre- 
served by Infinite Goodness. 

And how certain also is the punishment of his enemies ! 
How fearful is the thought that the despisers of the 
Gospel, are preserved by that hand which shall here- 
after plunge them into the gulf of despair I " The word 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



87 



of his power" now upholds them ; and the same word 
shall pronounce upon them the irrevocable sentence of 
condemnation, the unchangeable doom of perdition ! 

Thus we see that the infirmities of human nature, 
and the perfections of the Godhead are represented as 
residing in one Christ. — Of the wonderful union of these 
natures, we read that the name which should be given to 
Jesus, was " Immanuel, which being interpreted is, 
God with us," God in our nature. "The Word was 
made flesh, and dwelt among us." "I am not alone, 
but I and the Father that sent me." "Of whom (i. e. 
of the Israelites) as concerning the Jlesh, Christ came, 
who is over all, God blessed for ever." "God was in 
Christ." " In him dwelleth all the fulness of the God- 
head bodily." " God was manifest in the flesh !" 

In the constitution of the person of Christ, there is a 
distinction of natures plainly stated in Scripture; but 
the unity of the person is evidently asserted also. 

He is sometimes spoken of in regard to his Divine 
nature, and sometimes in reference to his mediatorship. 
In respect to the former, he claims equality and oneness 
with the Father ; " I and my Father are one." And the 
testimony of the beloved disciples is, " This is the true 
God, and eternal life." In regard to the latter, in 
which he took upon him our nature, he said, " My Fa- 
ther is greater than I." And " There is one Mediator 
between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." 

The not observing of this distinction, seems to be the 
chief cause why some persons cannot discover in the 
Scriptures the doctrine for which we are contending. They 
readily receive all the passages which relate to the hu- 
mility of his office, in which he necessarily appeared in 
the form of a man ; but they will not acknowledge those 
parts of Holy Writ which describe the dignity of his 
Divine nature — which assert the Divinity of his person. 



88 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



The distinction between the person and offices of 
Christ, is clearly stated in both parts of the Word of 
of God. In the Old Testament he is sometimes called 
an angel, because he exercised the office of angels ; for 
these spiritual beings are said to be " ministering spi- 
rits." In the book of Exodus, the guide and defence 
of the Israelites is said to be " the angel of God," for 
he ministered to the Israelites in the office of an angel. 
But of the glory of his person, we read that he was the 
Lord of Hosts himself ; " The Lord, went before 
them." So also when " the angel of the Lord" ap- 
peared to Moses in the burning bush, it was the Lord 
h imself who thus displayed his presence ; for " when 
the Lord saw that he (Moses) turned aside to see, 
God called unto him out of the midst of the bush." 

In the New Testament he is frequently said to be a 
man, because he took upon him our nature, and ap- 
peared " in fashion as a man." When the Apostle was 
recommending to the Philip pians to cultivate a spirit of 
humility, he enforced his advice by holding out before 
them the example of " Christ Jesus, who, being in the 
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with 
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon 
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness 
of men," and was indeed man. He was manifested to 
us " in the body of his flesh," but thought it not robbery — 
no unjust assumption of the Divine perfections, to claim 
equality with the Father. And it is worthy of remark 
that in the above passage, (Phil. ii. 5, 6, and 7,) the 
same Greek word is employed in both clauses to express 
the Divine nature and humiliation of Christ : therefore, 
if he was truly and properly man, when he u took upon 
him the form of a servant, he must be also " very God," 
" being in the form of God." The antithesis is not 
complete without this inference. 



on the deity of chrisT. 



89 



Besides, were Christ a mere man, how could it be 
said with any propriety that he humbled himself, when 
he took upon him our nature, and " was made in the 
likeness of men/' His condescension is increased by 
the consideration, (and it is a Scriptural one,) that he did 
not take "on him the nature of angels,'' but he stooped 
yet lower, and " took on him the seed of Abraham." 

Again, — he " was made a little lower than the angels 
for the suffering of death" that is, that he might have a 
capacity to endure suffering. His Divine nature being 
incapable of suffering, it was necessary that he should 
assume an inferior nature which was subject to mortality. 

The whole body of believers is called the " church of 
God," and this church is said to be " purchased wilh 
his own blood;" and we know who it was that " by 
his own blood — obtained eternal redemption for us." 
" Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid 
down his life for us;" we know by what price we were 
redeemed, even " with the precious blood of Christ."— 
And in the confirmation of this " mystery of God- 
liness," we may add the very remarkable language of 
the Apostle Paul, when speaking of the union that sub- 
sists between Christ and believers ; " Christ also loved 
the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might pre* 
sent it to himself a glorious church." The church then 
is redeemed "by him, and for him;" " Salvation is of 
the Lord," " who gave himself for us, that he might 
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself 
a peculiar people." 

Those who waited "for the consolation of Israel)" 
before the coming of our Lord in the flesh, looked for a 
Divine Redeemer. When Elizabeth the mother of J ohn 
the Baptist was visited by the Holy Virgin, she exclaimed 
by the spirit of prophecy, being filled with the Holy 
Ghost, " Whence is this to me, that the mother of my 

N 



90 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



Lord should conic to me?" And the father of John 
the Baptist the forerunner of Christ, prophesied at the 
birth of his son, that he should "go before the face of 
ti e Lord to prepare his ways." And John was declared 
by Christ himself to be that " Elijah the prophet," spo- 
ken of by Malachi, as the precursor "of the great and 
dreadful day of the Lord." 

The disciples of Christ acknowledged his Deity. 
When the hesitating Thomas was convinced of the re- 
surrection of his Master, he "said unto him. My Lord, 
and my God." And when Philip desired to see the 
Father, Jesus answered him in these memorable words, 
u He that hath seen me, hath seen the Father and 
this reply was satisfactory to his disciples, for we do not 
rind any further enquiry on the subject. 

It is most evident also, that the Jews, in the days of 
our Lord, understood him to claim Divine honour and 
equality with the Father, and therefore his assertions 
must have borne such a meaning. — And if it be said 
that this was a false inference which the Jews made, 
in their eagerness to substantiate a charge against him, 
whereby he might be subjected to the punishment of 
death, we may reply that if it had been their mistake, 
Christ would have set them right. And had it been a 
forced inference for the mere purpose of substantiating a 
charge against him, our Lord, we may well suppose, 
would have repelled such an allegation ; but as in the 
case of their awful and malignant blasphemy, when they 
ascribed his miracles to power delegated from Satan, 
he proved to them that he performed those miracles by 
a Divine power, as one who came to overturn, and not 
to establish the empire of Satan, — so also when they 
charged him with blasphemy for making himself equal 
with God, for from renouncing the charge of claiming 
this equality, he defended his assertions, and further 



OH THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



91 



proved his right to Divine honour, "My Father worketh 
hitherto and I work ;" — thus affirming his own inde- 
pendent existence, and his operation as one with the 
Father. 

Again, — We find him saying, " All men should ho- 
nour the Son, even as they honour the Father ;" — not 
merely with the honour they give to a servant or officer 5 
on account of the dignity of his master whom he re- 
presents ; but with the same honour in kind and degree, 
that is given to the Father. — " I and my Father are one." 
" If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not; 
but if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works ; 
that ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, 
and I in him :" as if he had said, if ye are not satisfied 
with the explanation which I have given of the writings 
of the prophets, and with the proofs which I have ad- 
vanced to show that all things which were written by 
them concerning the Messiah, are fulfilled in me ; — if 
ye doubt my words, admit nevertheless my title to the 
dignity which I claim and assert as my own, on account 
of my works ; believe me to be the Christ, the Son of 
God, and equal in power and glory to the Father, be- 
cause ye have all beheld the works which I have per- 
formed, which are such as could be done only by a 
Divine Power. 

If it be objected that his Apostles performed as great 
miracles as did Christ, and therefore the miracles of 
Christ were no proofs of his Divinity ; let it be remarked, 
that what he performed he did in his own name, — " I 
will, be thou clean," — 66 Young man, I say unto thee, 
arise;" here we have the authoritative voice of Deity. 
But his Apostles wrought miracles by a power delegated 
from him, and they ever ascribed the power to its Divine 
Author. — " In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
rise up and walk," was the form pronounced over the 



92 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



cripple, whose miraculous restoration to strength and 
agility, is the first recorded instance of the exercise of 
the gift of healing by apostolic agents, after the resur- 
rection of Christ. And this miracle is ascribed by Peter 
to the Name of Christ. See Acts iii. and iv. The 
same difference is also observable between the miracles 
of the Prophets, and those performed by Jesus. When 
Elijah restored the widow's son to life, he said, " O 
Lord ray God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come 
unto him again :" but when our Lord performed a si- 
milar miracle on Lazarus, he said " Lazarus, come, 
forth." 

The Jews would not acknowledge that Jesus was the 
Son of God, because in so doing they would have ad- 
mitted his Divinity ; for their own words prove that they 
accounted the Son of God to be equal with God ; there- 
fore when they sought to slay Jesus, the reason which 
they assigned was, that he had said u God was his 
Father, making himself equal with God.''' And when 
our Lord demanded of them why they took up stones 
to cast at him, they answered him, saying, " For a 
good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy ; and 
because that thou being a man, makest thyself God." 

The punishment denounced against blasphemers in 
the law of Moses was death ; and the alleged crime on which 
the High Priest condemned Christ, was that of making 
himself the Son of God, which they adjudged to be 
blasphemy. And yet when Jesus was arraigned on 
this charge, he not only did not protest against it, but 
in the most unequivocal manner asserted before them 
all, that he was the Son of God. 

Thus whether we refer to the language of prophecy 5 
or listen to the words of Jesus himself, or examine the 
writings of his disciples and apostles ; we find one con- 
curring testimony to the Divinity of Christ. Let not 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



93 



then any heart be veiled against such a light of evidence ; 
let no one be daring enough to say unto Christ, as did 
the unbelieving Jews of old, " Thou, being a man, 
makest thyself God," but let all join in the adoration 
of the Psalmist, when in the spirit of prophecy he ad- 
dressed the Son, and said, "Thy throne, O God, en- 
dureth for ever and ever." 

Further, — What is said of the exaltation of Christ ? 

After having humbled himself even unto death, he 
was highly exalted "far above all principality and 
power, and might and dominion, and every name that 
is named, not only in this world but also in that which 
is to come." Inasmuch as Christ was the "Mediator 
between God and man," and as such " the man Christ 
Jesus," he is said to have been raised from the dead by his 
Father : "This Jesus hath God raised:" But when the 
Divine nature of our Lord is referred to, then it is said 
that he laid down his life, that he might take it again ; 
for he had power to lay it down, and power to take it 
again, 

" He ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, 
and gave gifts unto men." And among these gifts, 
the most eminent is the gift of the Spirit, which 
Christ promised to send unto his disciples. And 
this Spirit is called both the Spirit of God, and the 
Spirit of Christ. See Rom. yiii. 9. And it is the gift 
both of the Father and of Christ ; (compare John xiv. 
26, and xv. 26,) and hereby we are furnished with the 
best comment on the words of our Lord, " My Father 
worketh hitherto, and I work." 

Other gifts which Christ was exalted to bestow, are 
" repentance," and the "forgiveness of sins." Repent^ 
ance is the gift and operation of God ; and the forgive- 
ness of sins is the prerogative of Deity. Christ coin 
nected together the power of healing diseases, and of 



94 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



forgiving sins, as proceeding from the same authority, 
and requiring equalpower. When the Jews objected to the 
exercise of this prerogative by Christ, and said, u Who 
can forgive sins but God only ?" Jesus asserted that he 
had power on earth to forgive sins; thus assenting to 
what the Jews had stated with respect to this power be- 
longing solely to God, and claiming at the same time 
the right of exercising it. 

Christ is exalted to the glory and worship of heaven. 
He is incapable of exaltation, or accession to his glory 
and happiness, inasmuch as he is " over all God blessed 
for ever ;" but as the Mediator, he was raised from his 
state of abjectness, and poverty, and contempt, and 
misery, and death, to receive the adoration of the hea- 
venly hosts. 

Shall we then hesitate to address our prayers to him, 
into whose hands dying martyrs committed their spirits ? 
— whose grace and power were supplicated by his holy and 
faithful Apostles? — and who is worshipped and adored 
in heaven by angelic beings, and the spirits of redeemed 
men ? Shall we fear to imitate the worship of heaven ? 
The angels are commanded to worship Jesus. David spake 
of the glory of his kingdom, and St. Paul interprets 
his language as applying to Christ ; " And let all the 
angels of God worship him." Shall we then fear or 
hesitate to prostrate ourselves at His feet in humble 
adoration, before whom " Cherubim and Seraphim con- 
tinually do cry," u Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, 
who was, and is, and is to come and at whose feet 
the mighty intelligences, the angelic armies, and those 
whom he has ransomed from the earth, fall down, and 
cast their crowns before his throne, saying, " Thou art 
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and 
power ; for thou hast created all things, and for thy 
pleasure they are and were created." His ears hearken 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 95 



day and night to the pure service of the church tri- 
umphant above ; O let not then the worship of the 
church militant on earth be withheld ; but let our 
prayers, as "golden vials full of odours," and our 
songs of praise, "as the voice of many waters," join 
with " the voice of harpers harping with their harps," 
and ascend continually before his throne ! Let us begin 
on earth the worship of the heavenly state, and say, 
Hallelujah ! " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to 
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
and honour, and glory, and blessing. 

Fourthly, — What saith the Scripture in relation to the 
second coming of Christ, and his future kingdom and 
glory ? 

As the " Son of man," he appeared on earth in weak- 
ness and poverty. He " came not to be ministered unto, 
but to minister." He "made himself of no reputation."— 
His coming was not with worldly pomp and grandeur; 
his birth was announced only to a few shepherds ; the 
world heeded not the arrival of its Lord ; men were oc- 
cupied in their busy scenes, and their cares, and their 
follies ; and the greatest event that ever took place on 
the earth, passed unnoticed and unknown ! " He was 
in the world, and the world was made by him, and the 
world knew him not." As soon as he was born the 
sword was raised to destroy him ; and he encountered 
through the whole course of his ministry, the persecution 
and mockery of his enemies. He was " a reproach of 
men, and despised of the people yet he put not 
forth his power to destroy them ; he came on an errand 
of mercy ; he came to save the world. 

But his second appearing shall be to raise the dead, 
and to judge the world. Then shall he take to him his 
mighty power, and come in all the fearfulness of his 
majesty and glory, to be admired by them that believe, 



06 ON THE DEITY OF. .CHRIST. 

and to the utter confusion, and astonishment, and terror 
of soul, of all those who despised and rejected hirri. 
He " shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty an- 
gels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that 
know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our 
Lord Jesus Christ." 

On earth he was a man of sorrows ; his glory was ob- 
scured and veiled by the inferior nature which he as- 
sumed ; but on the Great Day he shall appear in all the 
unapproachable brightness of his Godhead. Those eyes 
which once looked on him with scorn and rage, shall be 
dimmed with the insufferable splendour of his glory. — 
Where are now the wise men of the world who despised 
him, and charged him with madness, and imputed his 
works to demoniacal agency ? — They are covered with 
shame, and are speechless before him. Where are they 
who took up stones to cast at him ? Where is the mul- 
titude that cried, "Away with him, Away with him; 
Crucify him, Crucify him ?" Their tongues now utter 
only wailing, and lamentations, and the cries of despair. 
Where are the mockers and scoffers who smote him,— 
who buffeted him, — who spit in his face, — who tore and 
mangled his body with iron rods, — who drove with heavy 
blows the thorns into his bleeding brow,— who nailed 
him to the cross, and wantonly pierced his side with the 
spear ? — Where are the chief priests and the scribes who 
conspired to destroy him ? Where Judas who betrayed 
him ? Where Pilate who condemned,— and the soldiers 
who crucified him ? — Can they now look on him ? Shall 
not those hearts which were "as firm as a stone, yea, as hard 
as a piece of the nether mill-stone," melt away before 
" the terror of the Lord ?" Shall not their knees smite 
together, and the faces of them all gather blackness ?— 
His eye penetrates their souls ; the awful majesty of his 
countenance — his "voice as the sound of many waters"— 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST* 



97 



his "throne high and lifted up" — -bis attendant angels, 
in number " ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou- 
sands of thousands"— all this grandeur and glory causes 
their hearts to fail, and they become as dead men. 
Constrained by his resistless power, they assemble in 
dread suspense before the Judge of all ; from his mouth 
all await their final, their everlasting doom. What a 
day of exaltation to the friends of Jesus, and what a 
day of sorrow, and terror, and despair, to his enemies! 

The day in which this glorious appearing shall be 
manifested, is sometimes called in Scripture " the day 
of our Lord Jesus Christ," or " the day of the Lord," 
and sometimes " the day of God." 

It is the "day of Christ," because he will then appear 
as the Messiah to execute the final act of his Mediatorial 
kingdom. It is the "day of the Lord," because it will 
be the time of the display of his fearful power : " The 
great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth 
greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord : the 
mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day 
of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of 
wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom- 
iness, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the 
trumpet and alarm." It is called "the day of God," be- 
cause on that day he will more clearly reveal himself to the 
assembled human race as " the blessed and only Potentate, 
the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords;" and because 
he will then no longer offer himself to sinners as a God 
in Christ, waiting to be gracious, and offering salvation, 
and beseeching men by his servants to be reconciled to 
him, — but as a " consuming fire." Instead of holding 
forth the sceptre of pardon and peace, he will then whet 
his glittering sword, and his hand will take hold on 
judgment, and he will render vengeance to his ene- 
mies. 

o 



9S 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



This day is also called the "last day the "day of 
judgment;" and the " day of redemption." 

It is called the " last day," because the present order 
of things shall then pass away; these transitory and 
fluctuating scenes shall be succeeded by the immutable 
laws of endless duration; time shall be no more; and 
all the human race shall be received into the bosom of a 
fixed, unvarying eternity. — It is called the "day of 
judgment," because the day of grace and of salvation, 
and of the visitation of mercy will then cease. It will 
be "the time of the Lord's vengeance." Instead of 
patience and long-suffering, it will be the time of anger 
and wrath ; instead of the cloaking and concealing of 
sins, it will be the time of scrutiny and manifestation of 
the secrets of all hearts ; the close visor of hypocrisy 
will then be taken off, the sins of the impenitent will 
follow after them unto judgment ; instead of the offering 
of pardon and of mercy, it will be the time of an irre- 
vocable condemnation. 

It is also called the "day of judgment;*' because 
then "small and great" shall stand before God; those 
who died in the tenderest years of infancy, and those 
who had reached their three-score years and ten. The 
mighty monarch s of the earth, yea, the spiritual " thrones 
and dominions, principalities and powers," " the rulers 
of the darkness of this world," "the prince of the 
power of the air," "the devil and his angels" shall 
come forth to this tribunal. " The sea shall give up the 
dead that are in it;" that vast population which the 
mighty waters of the deluge overwhelmed in the days of 
Noah, shall be reanimated, together with all that the 
carnage of war, and the raging of the storm have buried 
in the profundity of the ocean. — It is called the "day 
of judgment," because death and hell shall deliver up 
their prisoners; no hiding-place or secret cover shall be 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



99 



found throughout the whole range of creation. The eye 
of the J udge will pierce the deepest recesses, cc hell is 
naked before him, and destruction hath no covering." 
The " spirits of just men made perfect," shall assemble 
to have their happiness confirmed by the approbation 
of their Judge, and their blessedness secured by the 
seal of eternity. The spirits of the lost shall also come 
forth from their abodes of horror, not to receive a respite 
from their sufferings, (hell dwells in their bosom,) not 
to have their torments assuaged by a drop of water to 
cool their burning tongue, but to hear from the same 
unalterable decisions the consummation of their misery 
and despair. 

It is called also the "day of redemption," because 
the salvation of believers will then be perfected. Their 
bodies shall be raised from the grave, and be glorified, 
and they shall be ever with the Lord. Let his redeemed 
then rejoice in his power and might; let them commit 
their sleeping dust into his care ; he will watch over 
their bodies and raise them at the last day. Whether 
they have been consumed by the fires, or mangled by 
the tortures of persecution, — whether they have been 
wasted by loathsome disease, or destroyed by the ac- 
cidents common to mortality, — whether the sword of 
war has slain them, or the ocean has ingulfed them in its 
abyss, — whether their bodies have been devoured by the 
birds of heaven, or the beasts of the forest, or their ashes 
have been scattered to all the winds of heaven, — whether 
they have lain among the dead, days, or years, or ages, 
from righteous Abel to the last ransomed servant of 
Jesus, all shall be restored and reanimated, and not 
one particle be lost. They are precious in the sight of 
the Redeemer ; and he shall, as it were, bestow peculiar 
care in collecting their dust. They shall first behold 
the morning of the resurrection; " Christ the first-fruits, 



100 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



afterwards they that are Christ's at his coming;' 1 "the 
dead in Christ shall rise fir st.'' " This is the first resur* 
rection, blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection; on such the second death hath no power." 

On this u great and dreadful day," Christ declared 
to the Jews, that they should see him, "sitting on the 
right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of hea- 
ven." As Mediator he will appear with authority de- 
legated from the Father, to execute judgment on all the 
world ; but if his appearing in the flesh amid weakness 
and poverty, were no bar to his claim of equality with, 
God, his appearing " on the throne of his glory," al- 
though still like unto the " Son of Man," will not 
weaken his title to the Godhead. Indeed, this " coming 
of the Lord," is also called the " glorious appearing of 
the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." He 
shall then be seen " as he is ;" not as he was, when on 
earth, veiled in human form, " in all things it behoved 
him to be made like unto his brethren," but in " his 
glory" — in his own essential glory, which he had as one 
God with the Father before the world was. 

And for what purpose will he then appear ? To raise 
the dead, and to judge the quick and the dead.— The 
power of raising the dead, being equal to that of cre- 
ation, inasmuch as by corruption all bodies will be re- 
duced to their first elements, must belong alone to the 
Deity. Jesus, however, claims this power as his own ; 
and as in former cases we have seen the incommunicable 
name, the glorious perfections, and the Almighty works 
of Deity ascribed in Scripture to both the Father and 
the Son, so in the present case, the raising of the dead 
is attributed to Christ and to God. "As the Father 
raised up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the 
Son quickeneth whom he will." " The hour is coming 
in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 101 

voice." " Every one that seeth the Son and believeth on 
him, I will raise him up at the last day." " I am the 
resurrection." 

He is the author of spiritual life in the soul, and he 
will be the restorer of natural life to the body. All men 
were made by him, and he preserves all men, and he 
shall raise at the end of the world their slumbering dust. 
IJis voice called this fair creation out of nothing, and 
the same powerful word shall raise the dead. Then 
shall the Omnipotent power of the Redeemer be exhibited 
in all its majesty and glory, when his life-giving word 
shall recal into being the dead of all ages. <f The Lord 
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." 
At the sound of that shout the earth shall be rent asun- 
der, and the dead shall awake; that loud voice shall 
be heard throughout the empire of God ; the blast of 
that trump shall peal on the ears of the unnumbered 
myriads of the human race^ whom it shall summon to 
appear before the Judge of all, — Raise us, Lord, 
from a death of sin, to a life of righteousness, that we 
may have part in the first resurrection ! Amen. 

Let us now advert to the person of the Judge. The 
authority of the Judge is sometimes ascribed to Christ, 
and sometimes to God. In old time the title of " Judge 
of Israel," was given in prophecy to Christ; and in the 
New Testament we read that he was " ordained of God 
to be the Judge of quick and dead;" and "we must 
all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ." But 
in the Apocalyptic vision, the dead are represented as 
standing before God ; and God is also said to be the 
"Judge of all," because the dignity and authority of 
Judge can belong inherently only to Him who is the au- 
thor of our being, and to whom alone we are accountable 
for all our actions. 



102 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

Christ Jesus, as Mediator, is deputed by God to be 
the Judge of mankind, because pardons are then to be 
bestowed, or rather ratified, and sentence is to be passed 
on men by one who partook of their nature ; and this 
office is a part of the Messiah's ministry ; it is the com- 
pletion of his government, and the finishing of the 
mystery of God. — And it is an act of grace in thus ap- 
pointing the Saviour to be Judge. When the Israelites 
were travelling through the wilderness, they provoked 
God with their muimurings and rebellions, till at length 
God declared he would not go up in the midst of them, 
lest he should consume them in the way, but would 
send his angel before them. Were we to be judged by 
a God of inflexible justice — a God without a Mediator, 
we should be consumed in a moment ; the jealous eye 
of the Eternal, too pure to behold iniquity, would pierce 
us with destructive brightness. And here we see the 
meaning of our Lord's declaration that, "the Father 
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto 
the Son." 

He has a peculiar fitness for the office of J udge, be- 
cause he is the " Son of Man." As one who hath taken 
part of our flesh and blood, and been 66 in all points 
tempted as we are," — as one who experienced all the in- 
firmities of human nature, and who combated the wiles 
of Satan and the snares of the world, he is able to judge 
man in wisdom, and mercy, with sympathy and pity. 
His enemies will be silenced in the consciousness of the 
righteous, and wise, and just sentence which he shall 
pass upon them ; and his friends will appear with con- 
fidence before him. 

With respect to his future kingdom and glory, u he 
must reign," as Mediator, ''till he hath put all enemies 
under his. feet ;" but as God, his " throne is for ever 
and ever his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 103 



which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one which 
shall not be destroyed. " He shall reign for ever and 
ever." His glory must endure as long as the blessedness 
of heaven endures, for the glory of heaven emanates 
from him : " The Lamb is the light thereof." 

The kingdom of Christ, as the head of the Church, 
and " Loud of all," is eternal as his own throne. His 
mediatorial kingdom will cease at the "day of judgment 
a then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up 
the kingdom to God even the Father ; — then shall the 
Son also be subject unto him that put all things under 
him, that God may be all in all." This apparent con- 
tradiction between temporary dignity and eternal dura- 
tion, between partial authority and endless dominion, is 
removed by observing the distinction between the office 
and the person of Christ. 

The economy of redemption required that a Mediator 
should interpose between God and man, in the same 
nature as the offending party, and that to him should 
be committed the kingdom of grace, that is, the dispen- 
sation of pardon and salvation. The whole tenor of 
Scripture, shows that this kingdom is to endure but for 
a time; u Now is the accepted time, now is the day of 
salvation ;" and it was therefore necessary that when the 
office should cease, the dignity and power should also 
be laid down. This subjection, then, of the Son unto 
the Father, is not the deposing of a rival power, nor 
the completing of the subjugation of an inferior being, 
but the resumption of power delegated to an office — 
the extinction of that office — the manifestation of the 
Godhead, not in the separate characters of Creator, 
Redeemer, and Sanctifier, but of God as all in all — the 
termination of the kingdoms of nature and of grace, 
and the establishment of the kingdom of glory. — " God 
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself," by 



104 



ON THE D15ITY OF CHRIST. 



tlje mediation of Jesus ; but when this " accepted time'* 
has ceased, (for it will have an end,) then God can no 
longer be approached through a Mediator ; he will then 
impute the trespasses of men unto them, the trespasses 
of those who have neglected (while it lasted) the only 
method by which they could be cancelled. 

What a fearful consideration to the sinner is here in- 
volved ! When the kingdom of grace is ended, a there 
remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." The " blood of 
sprinkling" will no longer plead for pardon, but having 
been " trodden under foot," shall cry with as prevailing 
a voice for vengeance. " Christ crucified" shall be no 
longer the source of life to sinners, but having been 
crucified afresh, and put " to an open shame," shall 
become the power of God unto eternal condemnation. 
There will be no longer an interceder for sins before the 
throne, — no longer any " Daysman that might lay his 
hand upon both," — no longer any H Advocate with the 
Father," — no longer a " merciful and faithful High 
Priest, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people,'* 
but only a " fearful looking for of judgment, and of 
fiery indignation." Peace was proposed, but rejected ; 
and now the things which belong to it, are for ever hid ; 
— pardon was offered, but slighted ; and now vengeance 
that has a long time slumbered, falls with accumulated 
weight on the heads of the disobedient. Men were per- 
suaded by the " terrors of the Lord," and invited by 
the love and compassion of a Saviour ; — the salvation 
that is by Christ Jesus was exhibited constantly before 
them in the preaching of the Gospel ; but terrors were 
defied, mercy was contemned, the Gospel was neglected 
or derided, and now the day of reconciliation is gone 
by for ever, — and the day of redemption is come to an 
end, and the " Lamb of God," who died for guilty 
man, becomes the Lion of Judab, ready to tear his ene- 



Ott THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 105 



lilies into pieces, while none can deliver." " The great 
day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to 
stand?" "The mountains quake at him, and the hills 
melt, and the earth is burnt at his presence, yea, the 
world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand be- 
fore his indignation, and who can abide in the fierceness 
of his anger?" 

To those who have looked for the day of Christ, it 
shall be the fulfilment of a blessed hope ; they shall be- 
hold with steadfastness of heart the conflagration which 
will envelop the world — the passing away of the hea- 
venly bodies — the dissolution of the elements — the roll- 
ing together of the heavens — the resurrection of the 
dead — the revelation of the Son of Man, with all the 
attendant solemnities and display of majesty and power. 
— They will see in all this apparent confusion and cha- 
otic discord, the developement of the designs of the Sa- 
viour; they will look on this fearful destruction as the 
appointed means of introducing a new, and glorious, 
and unchangeable order of things. 

Houses and cities and temples fall into one common 
ruin, but they look for " a building of God, a house 
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens;" they ex- 
pect " a city which hath foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God," even the new Jerusalem that cometh 
down from God out of heaven, and where the " Lord 
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple." 

Kingdoms and countries, and empires are over- 
whelmed in one destruction, but the redeemed wait for a 
"kingdom which cannot be shaken;" "they desire a 
better country, that is a heavenly." The earth itself 
sinks beneath them — the heaven is fled away — the stars 
are fallen — the brightness of the moon is waxed dim, 
and the sun is extinct, but they " look for new heavens 
and a new earth;" they wait for a state of glory and 

p 



106 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



blessedness, where they shall have " no need of the sun^ 
neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God 
will lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the light thereof.'' 
To them also "there remaineth no more sacrifice for 
sin," because Jesus, by one offering hath perfected for 
ever " their salvation, and by his own blood' ' hath 
" obtained eternal redemption for them." 

" Happy is the people that is in such a case !" Were 
they poor and despised when on the earth ? Here they will 
C( inherit all things.'' They have exchanged their sor- 
did abodes for a city whose gates are pearls, and whose 
streets are pure gold. Once they were exposed to scoff, 
and slander, and reproach ; now they walk 

" High in salvation, and the climes of bliss." 

They go no more to the corrupt and scanty waters of 
earthly springs to supply their wants, but the crystal 
streams of the waters of life issuing from the throne of 
God, glide through the holy city in a full and inex- 
haustible tide, bearing on its bosom immortality and joy. 

Sorrows and trials have for ever ceased, and their 
happiness and peace are pure and uninterrupted as the 
unruffled surface of the " river of the water of life," 
and durable as eternity. Their existence is no longer 
numbered by days, and months, and years^ but they 
shall flourish in immortal youth, unimpaired by the 
lapse of countless ages. 

Their knowledge on earth was bounded by a con- 
fined capacity, and by straitened means ; they saw but 
" through a glass darkly," and knew but " in part 
an impenetrable cloud hid from them the inscrutable 
ways of the Almighty ; their view of the course of Di- 
vine Providence was limited to that part which the events 
of time displayed to their notice ; — but now they know 
even as they are known; now they see the plans of the 



OJV THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 107 



Divine government unfolded, and discover that all was 
governed by unerring wisdom, all was performed by 
infinite love, and that consistent harmony and beauty 
reigned throughout every event. 

While travelling in their earthly pilgrimage, their 
songs were often interrupted by tears and complaints be- 
cause of the difficulties of the way; the cheering rays 
of the u Sun of righteousness," the beams of the light 
of his countenance were often interrupted by "long 
nights and darkness," by the clouds of their sins, and 
the thick clouds of their transgressions, which hung 
heavily over their christian course; — but now all tears 
are wiped away ; unbroken songs " from blest voiecs 
uttering joy," are heard day and night before the throne ; 
they see the face of the Redeemer in all his unveiled 
glories, and " shall reign for ever and ever." 

But how shall mortal tongue declare the unutterable 
glories of heaven ! What know we of the ineffable bliss 
of Paradise — of light intolerable to mortal vision — of 
knowledge infinitely beyond the reach of human minds — 
of happiness which souls shut up within bodies of gross 
flesh and blood have not capacity to enjoy — of duration 
extended as eternity ! " For since the beginning of the 
world, — men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, 
neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he 
hath prepared for him that waiteth for him." " Let me 
die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be 
like his !" 

Let us now see what are the practical inferences which 
may be deduced from the doctrine of the Deity of 
Christ. 

It teaches (1.) the evil nature of sin. 

That sin "is an evil thing and bitter," may be per- 
ceived in the awful effects which it has produced in the 
mind of man, and in the sufferings to which his body is 



10S 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



exposed, and in the curse which has fallen on the earth. 
It may be perceived further in the endless torments 
which the Bible declares to be reserved for impenitent 
sinners ; but it is chiefly displayed in the Cross of Christ ; 
it cannot be placed in a stronger light than when viewed 
in connexion with the sufferings and death of Christ. 

The guilt of man's transgression must have been in- 
finite in degree, seeing it required a sacrifice of infinite 
value for its atonement. How deep must have been the 
die of our sins, seeing only the blood of Christ could 
wash away the stain ! How abject must our slavery 
Lave been, seeing our redemption could be purchased 
only by a Divine Saviour — his lite must be the price 
paid for our ransom! How great the anger of God 
against sin, seeing only the offering up of Jesus could 
restore us to his favour! How malignant must be the 
enmity which sin excited in the breast of fallen man, 
seeing only " God in Christ" could reconcile the world 
unto himself! How deplorable must be our depravity, 
and how completely most all moral beauty be effaced in 
the soul, and to what a height must our rebellion have 
arisen against the authority of God, seeing only the 
Spirit of God can renew and sanctity us, and impress 
again on our souls the lost image of our Creator, and 
re-establish his dominion in the heart ! 

What language can set forth the vileness, the mag- 
nitude, the guilt of sin. which required for its atonement 
that "the Prince of Life" should leave the songs and 
adoration of heaven, that he should lay aside his eternal 
glory, and make himself of no reputation, and take 
upon him the form of a servant, and be made in the 
likeness of sinful flesh : and being found in fashion as 
a man, should humble himself, and become obedient 
unto death even the death of the cross ! 

In that dreadful day, when God laid on his Son the 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



109 



iniquity of man, when he bruised him for our trans- 
gressions, when he forsook him, and left him to combat 
in spirit all the powers of darkness, when beneath the 
load of the sin of a world he became " sore amazed," 
and "exceedingly sorrowful even unto death," when 
" being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his 
sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood rolling down 
to the ground," when he endured that sore anguish of 
soul which made him cry out, " My God, My God, 
why hast thou forsaken me!" — in that dread day was 
eminently manifested the anger of God and the hein- 
ousness of sin. 

And when a convinced sinner is led to contemplate 
his guilt in the Cross of Christ, he finds there the most 
efficacious means to make his heart broken and contrite, 
the most powerful excitement to godly sorrow, the most 
prevalent motive to induce a hatred — a soul abhorrence 
of all sin, and to create a love of holiness and obedience. 
A Divine Saviour shows him the great evil of sin, and 
this again exhibits to him the love of the Saviour, and 
enforces the necessity of looking to him for deliverance. 
The love of God leads him to repentance, and produces 
faith in his heart; it sets forth his guilt, and points out 
his refuge. 

(2.) This doctrine teaches us further the inability of 
man to rescue himself from his state of sin and misery. 

This 'inability arises in part from the inflexible justice 
of God, and in part from the debasing nature of sin. 
The justice of God could be satisfied only by the in- 
fliction of its righteous "denunciations against sin ; and 
on whom must its wrath fall ? — if on man, he must sink 
beneath it into everlasting misery. If Justice cast him 
into prison, his confinement will be without hope, he 
will never have paid the uttermost farthing of his vast 
debt. But when a Divine Surety interposes, and by 



110 OX THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



the substitution of himself in our stead, receives the 
stroke of J ustice, and drinks the cups of wrath, pardon 
is purchased for our transgressions, we are ransomed 
from the dominion of the powers of darkness, and pro- 
vided with a righteousness which is our title to heaven. 

Man is also unable to recover himself from the effects 
of the fall, in consequence of the debasing nature of 
of sin. When Adam had lost the favour of God by 
violating his easy commands, he lost also the power of 
recovering that favour by his own efforts. When he 
had broken the terms of the covenant, all hope of sal- 
vation by any future observance was for ever taken 
away. There was no provision made by which he might 
restore himself to his former state of happiness and ac- 
ceptance with God. He fell under the awful conse- 
quences of his guilt, and became subject to all the evils 
of a state of departure from his God, 

And into what a degraded condition does sin reduce 
us. It causes blindness in the understanding, perverse- 
ness in the will, and a corrupt tendency in the affec- 
tions. It not only brings guilt on the conscience, but 
has a tendency to destroy all moral principle in the soul ; 
it not merely excites the just anger of God, but implants 
an enmity against God in the heart ; it not only se- 
parates between God and the soul, but deprives us of 
the power of returning to our allegiance — it indisposes 
us to return ; it not only unfits the soul for communion 
with God, but renders it meet only for hell — for the 
company of the lost spirits of darkness ; it not only ex- 
cludes from heaven, but banishes to the abodes of ever- 
lasting despair. 

Our minds are seldom duly impressed with the vast 
distance to which sin has removed us from God, the only 
source of good, the sole fountain of happiness, and yet 
this distance is infinite ; it forms a gulf wide as that 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



Ill 



which divides heaven from hell, a gulf which no man 
can pass over. Sin has driven us " afar off" from God- 
separated us from the enjoyment of his presence by an 
immeasurable distance, and by obstacles insurmountable 
to mortal efforts. The blood of Christ can alone bring 
us nigh; his mediation can alone procure the remission 
of sins — the recal of the banished ones — a meetness for 
heaven, and the enjoyment of everlasting glory and 
blessedness. 

(3.) If Christ be "God over all," what a fearful 
end awaits his enemies. 

" He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his 
feet." And who are the enemies of Christ? Who are 
they that enter the lists with Deity — that offer to combat 
with Omnipotence? They are those who deny his es- 
sential glory ; they are the " false prophets who bring in 
damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought 
them, who shall bring upon themselves swift destruction." 

They who remain unconvinced by the plain testimony 
of Scripture concerning the Divine glory of the Saviour, 
shall be confounded by the manifestation of his appearing, 
when he will vindicate his honour. To acknowledge 
the Divine Saviour now, to obey and trust him, is to 
receive a full salvation ; — but to withhold the adoring 
language, ."My Lord, My God," till he comes in his 
glory, is to seal our endless ruin — is to trample on the 
grace of a Saviour who is Omnipotent, and to invoke 
on our heads the full vengeance of his Almighty arm. 

It is worthy of remark that they who refuse to honour 
the Son even as they honour the Father, reject also the 
doctrine of the atonement. They first obliterate the 
Sun of Righteousness, and then protest that the doctrine 
of an imputed righteousness is not to be found in the 
Bible. This is consistent. Take away that which alone 
stamps infinite value and merit on the sufferings of Christ, 



112 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



and you do in fact take away the vicarious nature of 
this obedience rfnd these sufferings, for their efficient 
yalue ceases when disjoined from the Divine nature of 
him who was both the subject and the agent. To say 
that the sufferings and death of Christ were a proof of 
the truth of the doctrines which he taught, is to say 
nothing, because they could only be a proof of his sin- 
cerity, and nothing further, if we take from them their 
vicarious nature. And to say that these sufferings and 
this obedience unto death were necessary, that our re- 
pentance might be accepted as a satisfaction for sin, is 
to make us in part our own saviours. If Christ were 
not altogether a substitute, a ransom, an oblation for 
guilty man, the necessity of his death is rendered 
doubtful; if salvation be by works, if it be in any de- 
gree of human operation, then hath Christ died in vain. 

If Christ be a mere man, then salvation is not so great 
a benefit as we have been accustomed to regard it ; and 
sin is not so great an evil. A human sacrifice can render 
human repentance an atonement for transgression ; and 
as to the mercy, and peace, and love, and condescension 
of the Saviour, they are in a great measure effaced, — 
at least they are considerably lessened ; for doubtless, 
many might have been found who would have died 
(agreeably to the Socinian system) for the sins of the 
world ! ! Many mortal substitutes might have been 
found to receive a Divine commission, and to set an ex- 
ample of patience, and kindness, and submission to the 
will of God ! ! 

Reject the Divinity of Christ, and it is no wonder 
that the doctrine of the atonement cannot be found in 
the Sacred Volume. Remove this sun from the firma- 
ment of Revelation, and obscurity veils the face of the 
Scriptures. Take no heed to the light of prophecy, 
and the Bible is a "dark place ; n no day will dawn, no 
day-star arise in the heart. 



OS THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 113 



Not to discern the doctrine of salvation by the im* 
puted righteousness of Christ, is to be blind and not 
able to see afar off. St. Paul taught this doctrine, and 
sought in this way his own salvation. He saw the value, 
the infinite value of the righteousness of Christ — the 
righteousness of God, and desired with all the earnest- 
ness of one who was convinced that his own best deeds 
were unprofitable — that his own wisdom was but igno- 
rance — that his own holiness needed sanctification, and 
his very repentance and best works pardon, — with all 
the ardour of his soul he desired to find in Christ 
" Wisdom, and Righteousness, and Sanctification, and 
Redemption he rejected all Self- righteousness, all 
dependance in any degree on his own works and merit, 
and esteemed every thing as loss, that he might be 
found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but 
that which is through the faith of Christ, the right- 
eousness which is of God by faith. 

What is the chief subject of the Bible, but the re- 
covery of fallen man by the mediation of our Lord 
Jesus Christ? This is the grand theme of inspiration 
from the first promise of the Saviour immediately after the 
fall, down to the close of the canon of Scripture. All 
the ritual observance of the old law, the sacrifices and 
the priestly service, pointed to Christ as the great Pro- 
totype. Those who reject the doctrine of the atonement, 
reject "the counsel of God against themselves;" for 
salvation by Jesus Christ is the effect — the result of the 
wisdom of God. They that are offended at this doc- 
trine, fall on the " stumbling-stone," and u shall be 
broken ;" but on them who refuse to acknowledge the 
Divine glory of the Saviour, this stone shall fall and 
grind them to powder. 

They are also the enemies of Christ, who obey not 
his Gospel, who do not walk according to the rule of 

Q 



114 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



his holy Word. To refuse the offers of mercy, — to 
shake off the yoke of Christ, — to account his service a 
bondage — his worship a dull and heavy employment — 
prayer useless — praise burdensome — and his word a 
rigorous and slavish restraint, — this is to be the enemy 
of Christ, — this is to say, " We will not have this man 
to reign over us." 

And shall they escape who are thus " the enemies of 
the Cross of Christ ?" Nay; they shall be slain before 
him ; their " end is destruction," — the destruction of 
the soul, — noi annihilation — not the extinction of con- 
sciousness ; no, man is immortal ; his body indeed is 
frail, and in the emphatic language of Scripture, " he 
dwelleth in houses of clay, his foundation is in the 
dust, he is crushed before the moth ;" but his soul is 
never-dying. While here on earth the smallest disar- 
rangement of his animal system brings on his dissolution ; 
the elements, the wind — the rain — the cold — the heat 
are all ministers of death to him ; a portion of his own 
labours, of the structures which he has himself reared, 
falls on him, and he is whelmed beneath the ruin. But 
his soul is imperishable ; it shall survive the wreck and 
utter destruction of the material universe. It shall come 
forth unhurt by a ruin which shall ingulf a world ! 

O what fearful visions shall meet the disembodied 
spirits of the wicked at the great day of the Lord ! 
How gladly would they be for ever in the darkness of 
the grave ; but they must tt come forth," to meet the 
vengeance of an incensed God ! Annihilation would be 
a refuge — a mercy ; but they must u come forth," to 
catch a glimpse of heaven — to touch as it were the 
threshold of bliss, and then to be banished into misery, 
to be driven into hell ! Christ will come to take ven- 
geance on them, and what must be the vengeance of a 
God ! They shall be cast into a " lake of fire," and 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 115 

u the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and 
ever!" Every sense shall become the avenue to pain 
and torment; every faculty of the soul shall be quick- 
ened to the acutest sense of misery and of anguish ! 
" O that they were wise, that they understood this, that 
they would consider their latter end !" " Kiss the Son 
lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way." " Hear 
ye, and give ear, be not proud, for the Lord hath 
spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God, before 
he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon 
the dark mountains, and while ye look for light, he 
turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross 
darkness." 

To conclude. — To whom shall we go but unto Christ ? 
Let us look to him as did the Disciple when dismayed 
at the dark waves and the stormy wind, and like him 
cry, saying, " Lord save me !" This brief life is the 
single opportunity that is put into our hands to secure 
the safety of our souls. Christ now offereth himself to 
us as a Deliverer — the only Deliverer ; " for there is 
none other name under heaven given among men, whereby 
we must be saved." 

If we despise this Saviour we must perish ; if we re- 
ject an Almighty Redeemer, what arm shall rescue us 
from endless ruin ! What substitute have we for his 
precious blood — what plea shall we urge instead of his 
meritorious obedience — what justification shall we at- 
tempt without the "righteousness of God!" "How 
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation !" 

And yet how little do we meditate on these things ! 
What know we of Christ ? We are commanded to 
honour the Son, and how can this be done, unless we 
seek to know more of the salvation of which he is the 
Author, — unless we " grow in grace, even in the know- 
ledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;" — in the 



116 ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 



knowledge of his person and glory, — in the knowledge 
of this great " mystery of godliness," the manifestation 
of God in the flesh. 

We are also commanded to look for (t the coming of 
the day of God" — the " day of redemption." Chris- 
tians should desire the " day of God," because Jesus 
Christ will then vindicate his Divine glory ; he will 
openly manifest himself to be " God over all blessed 
for ever ;" and they should also desire the " day of re^ 
demption," because they will then enter into the joy 
of their Lord. 

O what hinders the immediate coming of the Judgment 
day ! What prevents the day of wrath, but the mercy, 
and forbearance, and long-suffering of God ! The sin 
of the world crieth for judgment, "the earnest expect- 
ation of the creature waiteth, — the whole creation 
groaneth;" "the oppression of the poor, the sighing 
of the needy," " the groaning of the prisoner" go up 
before God continually ; the elect of God cry day and. 
night unto him, "being burthened;" the redeemed in 
heaven cry, " How long, O Lord, holy and true :" and 
yet the patience of God endureth daily ! But fearful 
will be the long -delayed day of vengeance. What 
cannot Omnipotence inflict on its enemies ! Shall we 
not then flee from the wrath to come, — flee as those who 
feel the ground of their own righteousness sinking beneath 
their feet, and who are reaching forward to gain a sure, 
a safe footing on the Rock of Ages. 

God is said to be the Lord of his anger ; he is the 
" God of patience," and therefore he cometh not forth 
into judgment with man; but the day of grace will 
terminate, even the patience of God will have a period. 
u Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." 
" The spirit and the bride say, come. And let him 
that heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst 



ON THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 117 

come ; and whosoever will, let him take of the water 
of life freely." " He that testifieth these things saith, 
Surely I come quickly; Amen, even so come, Lord 
Jesus." 



ESSAY III. 
OJV PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



If it be acknowledged that there is a God, reason 
teaches us that it is our duty to seek his favour, to ac- 
knowledge our dependance upon him, to praise him for 
the blessings of which we are the constant recipients, 
and to confess our sinfulness, and to implore the pardon 
of our innumerable offences. And this worship should 
not be occasional, but continual, the solemn exercise 
of every day. If there be one day in which we are in- 
dependent of the Providence of God, let that day be 
passed over without acknowledgment — without prayer — 
without praise. If there be one day in which we offend 
not, let it not be marked either by confession, or earnest 
cry to heaven for absolution. But such a day cannot 
be found in the period of the longest life. " Blessed 
be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits ;" his 
blessings know no intermission ; there is no period in 
which we do not partake of his bounty. And who can 
look back on the space of but one day, and say, " In 
all this I have not sinned." Let then every rising 
morning witness the offering up of our sacrifice of praise 
and of supplication ; let every returning evening bear 
testimony to the fervour of our devotion. 

But while the daily exercises of private and of family 
devotion should be constantly observed, there is a more 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP, 



119 



solemn duty connected with the engagements of the 
Lord's day. Public worship is a Divine institution. 
It is in the house of God that he is pleased to impart in 
a larger measure, spiritual blessings to the souls of men. 
" The Lord loveth the gates of Zion, more than all the 
dwellings of Jacob." <c The Lorfl hath chosen Zion ; 
he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest 
for ever ; here will I dwell ; for I have desired it. I 
will abundantly bless her provision : I will satisfy her 
poor with bread. 1 will also clothe her priests with 
salvation ; and her saints shall shout aloud with joy." 
It is here that he has especially appointed to bear prayer. 

Among the advantages which result from an habitual 
attendance on public worship, we may mention the 
restraint which it is likely to put on the indulgence of 
depraved habits. The very entrance into an assembly 
of men, met together for the service of God, has some- 
thing in it to awe the mind. When no positive benefit 
is experienced, this almost imperceptible check, which 
has come silently over the mind in consequence of mere 
habit, is not to be overlooked. There are many who 
would never think of the soul, of eternity, of their 
Maker, of their condition on the earth, of their duties, 
of their prospects, if they were not in the practice of 
going to a place of worship. They would never 
hear of those things which belong to their everlasting 
peace, did they not hear of them in the house of God. 

How many thus come and go, year after year, and 
appear in our religious meetings, and sit as the people 
©f God sit, and are only a generation who have suc- 
ceeded to those that were rebuked for unprofitable 
formality in the days of the prophet Ezekiel ; (chap, 
xxxiii. 31.) they hear the word of God, and return to 
their dwellings without any perceptible benefit ! Yet 
we cannot say how far the mere act of attendance may 



120 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



have been beneficial to them ; from how many sins they 
may have been preserved ; what salutary check may 
have been put on any particular evil propensity ; nor 
how far the habit, which amounts in such persons to at 
least a profession of belief in the great doctrines of 
Christianity, may have operated to produce that regard, 
however small, to honesty and truth, and that attention, 
however inconstant, to relative duties, which are vi- 
sible in their deportment. It has a tendency to bring 
over the mind some sense of the presence of God, and 
to leave an impression, never wholly effaced, of the 
account which is to be rendered up to God by all at 
the Judgment Day. 

There is public provision made in every christian 
land for the solemn and orderly observance of the wor- 
ship of God ; and those who refrain from treading the 
hallowed courts of the sanctuary, transgress an express 
institution of heaven, and exclude themselves from the 
blessings which are there imparted: they undervalue 
the spiritual advantages which flow from an attendance 
on the sacred exercises of God's house, and slight the 
gracious invitations of the Gospel which are there con- 
tinually proclaimed, and freely offered to all. 

The heavenly table is spread, the board is richly co- 
vered with a spiritual banquet, the heralds of Divine 
Wisdom cease not to proclaim that all things are ready ; 
persons of every class, and colour, and language, and 
nation are pressed to come in; — but, alas, how few 
enter to partake of the feast ! The sacred viands are 
loathsome to the carnal appetite ; and, although it is 
God who sends the invitation, and forgiveness of sins 
and eternal life are the blessings offered, yet by what 
vanities, by what foolish trifles are men drawn aside, 
and prevented from coming in and partaking of the rich 
provision I With what pleasure do they seize on the 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP* 



121 



most trivial incident to divert their attention ; how rea- 
dily do they submit to the slightest hinderance that op- 
poses their everlasting welfare ! The weakest obstacle 
becomes insurmountable ; the most shallow pretence, a 
satisfactory exercise* " The Word of the Lord is unto 
them a reproach, they have no delight in it." what 
madness is this, that men should fall, without one per- 
severing effort to escape, beneath the wiles of their spi* 
ritual adversary, that they should make light of those 
things which involve their best, their immortal interests ! 
Great God, dissolve the fatal charm*, burst the snare 
asunder, that men may discern their true welfare, that 
their eyes may be opened to discover their danger, and 
their feet be made swift to flee from it ; that their hearts 
may be prepared to u hear instruction, and be wise," 
and that they may seek and obtain the "durable riches 
and righteousness!" 

But it is not the contempt of those only who despise 
the Lord's-day, and enter not into " the place where 
His honour dwelleth,'' that we have to lament ; there 
is also much indifference and insensibility, much world- 
liness and irreverence observable in those whose feet fail 
not to tread the habitation of God's house. The out- 
ward conduct of these persons shows that in their hearts 
they say of the worship of God, " what a weariness is 
it !" And even among those who truly fear God, and 
in whose hearts are his ways, there is often great defi- 
ciency in spiritual mindedness, in purity of affection, 
in simplicity and sincerity of worship, in devotional 
fervour, and religious solemnity. 

How many enter the house of the Lord also merely 
under the influence of habit and custom 1 . They con- 
tinue through a long series of years to persevere in the 
same track,to which they had been habituated during their 
childhood and youth : having been trained up in this 

R 



122 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



way, they depart not from it. But, alas, commendable 
as is the education and nurture of the young in the 
" admonition of the Lord," — desirable as it ever is to 
see the salutary effects of early restraint, and the pow- 
erful influence of first good impressions, yet must we 
not fear that an unmeaning routine of outward religious 
exercises, is the sum of the devotion of many regular 
attendants on our places of worship ! They assume all 
the postures of worship, they kneel during the hour of 
prayer, they rise with the assembly to chaunt the high 
praises of God, they take the quiet and attentive at- 
titude of those who listen with understanding and with 
desire to the instructions of the preacher, but there is 
something still wanting; and this defect renders the 
mechanical service of the body an unaccepted, a vain, 
a fruitless service. " Their ear is uncircumcised, they 
cannot hearken." The characteristic temper, the de- 
voted heart, of the sincere and humble worshipper are 
evidently wanting. That religious feeling cannot be 
found in them which David describes when he says, 
u In thy fear will I worship." The " broken and con- 
trite heart" accompanies not their prayers, to render 
them a sacrifice which God will not despise ; heartfelt 
gratitude, and a deep feeling and consciousness of un- 
worthiness, accompany not their songs of praise, when 
they " offer unto God thanksgiving;" they feel not that 
spiritual appetite which hungers for righteousness — for 
the bread of life ; they are not excited by that inward 
thirst of the soul which causes the spirit to drink in with 
eagerness and with delight the words of eternal life — 
the living water ; there is no self-examination, no self- 
application of the instructions of the minister. 

If our hopes are small concerning the strictly formal, 
Who observe all the " bodily exercise," all the ceremony 
of worship, to the very letter of the institution, but 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



123 



who betray an evident want of the " spirit that quick - 
eneth," — what shall we say to those inattentive and ir- 
reverent persons, whose actions manifestly evince that 
they " neither fear God, nor regard man." Are there 
not in our assemblies, — and when the question is asked, 
God grant that those who bear the marks of the cha- 
racters about to be mentioned, may discover the con- 
scious blush of self- conviction, — are there not among 
our worshipping assemblies some who betray absolute 
indifference to the whole of the service, — some who sleep 
when they should be vigilant against the attacks of their 
spiritual adversary, who sleep during the hour of prayer, 
and the period of religious admonition from the pulpit,— 
some who trifle, who 

"Mark in Church-time others' symmetry," 

while they should be considering their own ways, and 
excluding all vain and busy thoughts ? Such persons 
show that the care of the soul is the last consideration 
by which they are influenced in coming to the house of 
God. 

In vain does the voice of supplication rise around 
the inattentive and drowsy occupants, (for they cannot 
be called worshippers) of our sanctuaries. In vain is 
the Word of God read, or the way of salvation ex- 
plained, or the exhortations of the Gospel enforced, or 
the "unsearchable riches of Christ" displayed before 
those who close their hearts, their eyes, their ears, and 
stop up every avenue by which conviction might enter 
their minds. H ave they then no mercies to suppl icate — 
no blessings which call for thanksgiving, — need they 
not instruction, admonition, warning, promises, en- 
couragement, and all the quickening operations of the 
Word of God? Yes, verily, their want of all these 
things is in common with other men ; they stand on the 



124 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



same necessitous ground as do all the children of Adam ; 
nay, their -wants are greater in consequence of their in- 
difference and neglect ; their danger is more imminent 
because they are careless. 

And what shall awaken them 5 what shall excite in 
their breasts a due regard for their spiritual welfare ? 
The hand of God must produce the change, the power 
of the Most High must pass over them. O may it be 
in saving mercy, and not in destroying judgment! 
May they hearken ere they fall from their fancied se- 
curity, into remediless woe, — may they awake ere they 
".sleep the sleep of death!" 

Are there then no deficiencies in those whom we hope 
to be truly spiritual and devout worshippers ? Do these 
never manifest any dullness and lifeles&ness in the service 
of God ? Do they never feel a backwardness to engage 
in that exercise, which, of all others, should be most im- 
portant in their estimation, and which they have found 
a thousand times to be both refreshing to their spirits 
and profitable to their souls ? We have already alluded 
to these lamentable defects and infirmities: and, alas, 
who among us has not at one time or another experienced 
them all : — do we not too often fall under their dead- 
ening influence ! We profess to go up to worship God, 
to offer a sacrifice pleasing and acceptable in his sight; 
but, on reviewing our devotional exercises, how often 
are we compelled to say, Good Lord, pardon the defects 
of my services — pardon the formality and want of fer- 
vour in my prayers — pardon the coldness and apathy 
of my songs of praise ! Do we not often go up to the 
house of God without proper motive or aim : do we not 
often continue there without the lively exercise of de- 
votion, and depart almost without profit I How often 
are we weary of the service of God. heavy and dull, 
hard and insensible, wandering in thought, and dis- 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



125 



tracted by a thousand worldly cares and vanities ? Do 
we not sometimes feel a secret pleasure and satisfaction 
in our hearts, though we would fain hide it from our- 
selves, and from God if we could, when we are pre- 
vented by any lawful impediment from attending on 
the ordinances of public worship ? Do we never de- 
part from the house of God as though we were making 
our escape from an irksome task, and a fatiguing re- 
straint ? 

These things ought not so to be. Is it thus that we 
can be preparing to enter upon the services of the hea- 
venly world, where " every day will be a Sabbath, and 
that Sabbath eternity ?" If the graces of the Holy 
Spirit were lively in our hearts, we should mourn when 
secluded from the service of God ; our souls would 
weep when deprived of the privileges of the Sabbath, 
and we should with earnestness and longing expecta- 
tion, look for the return of the hallowed seasons, when 
we might enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving, 
and his courts with praise. Not only should we then re- 
gard the worship of God as a duty, and an obligation 
not to be dispensed with, but we should covet it as an 
honourable privilege, attend to it as a beneficial service, 
and whether in public or in private, rejoice when per- 
mitted to draw nigh unto God. 

We shall now proceed to enquire into the privileges 
and order of public worship. There are spiritual bless- 
ings conferred by God in the public worship of the 
sanctuary. These are included in the words of David, 
when he exclaims, w strength and beauty are in his sanc- 
tuary," which may be explained as comprehending 
whatever is beneficial to the soul. 

God is present in the house of prayer. It is in his 
sanctuary that he chiefly dispenses blessings to the souls 
of men. Often, indeed, we have cause to say, " We 



126 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



knew it not we perceived no appearance that denoted 
the presence of God ; and why ? because we entered 
with carelessness, without a devotional frame of mind. 
It is the spiritual vision that discerns the presence of the 
Lord in our worshipping assemblies ; it is by the sen- 
sible benefit which we have experienced in his service, 
that we are enabled to say, "this is the gate of heaven." 
Blessings are here conferred ; and if we are passed by 
in the distribution of them, it is because we have un- 
dervalued them — because we have not sought them. 
No spiritual worshipper ever returns from the service 
of God as he came to it ; some good is derived ; his faith 
is strengthened, or his fears are removed, — his hope is 
brightened, or his apprehensions are allayed, — his joy 
is animated, or his sorrows are banished, — his desires 
arc gratified, or his patience is increased. 

In the camp of Israel, the manna fell on every day 
except the Sabbath, a provision for that day being in- 
cluded in the quantity sent on the preceeding day ; with 
us a double portion of the Spiritual manna falls on the 
Lord's day : blessings for the soul are given every day 
to those that ask and seek, but on the Lord's day, the 
heavenly boon is more ample, more generally bestowed; 
thousands are fed on this day with the M true bread from 
heaven:" the Spirit is poured out abundantly: the in- 
vitation is universal ; the provision is " enough and to 
spare;" the heavenly welcome thus runs, "Eat, O 
friends : drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved." 

Among spiritual blessings, that operation on the mind 
of man by which he is convinced of sin, and returns unto 
God by faith in Jesus Christ, and brings forth the fruits 
of holy obedience, and which is termed regeneration 
and conversion, stands in the first rank. And although 
this blessing is conferred by God under a great variety 
of circumstances, and by the intervention of various 



ON PUELIC WORSHIP. 



127 



means, yet it is in his house, and by the instrumentality 
of preaching, that he is pleased ordinarily to turn men 
from the error of their way, and to lead them in the 
path of life. The promise made to an attendance on 
the preaching of the Gospel, is, that "the ears of them 
that hear, shall hearken. The heart also of the rash 
shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the 
stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly — And 
u faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of 
God." It is on this account that all the various ordi- 
nances of public worship are usually denominated 
means of grace ; as being the medium through which 
Divine and spiritual strength is imparted to the soul. 

It is a delightful reflection, and one which experience 
warrants us to indulge, that no Lord's day passes 
without the conversion of some souls unto God. This 
is the day on which multitudes who were "dead in 
trespasses and sins," are quickened and raised to the 
enjoyment of spiritual life, — the wanderers are brought 
home to the fold of the Good Shepherd, — those who 
were afar off from God by the enmity of the natural 
heart and by wicked works, are made nigh by the 
application of the blood of Christ to their hearts 
and consciences, — and strangers and aliens are intro- 
duced into the household of faith — the church of the 
living God, and are made to participate in all the pri- 
vileges of adoption. 

If such be the ease, how is this work of the Lord 
proceeding amongst us ? Do the ministrations of each 
succeeding Sabbath witness the sincere cry of penitence, 
the earnest enquiry, " What shall we do to be saved?" 
Can we note every Lord's day as the period of the con- 
version of at least one soul " from darkness to light, 
and from the power of Satan unto God ?" It will be a 
vain distinction that we are classed among the number 



128 on public Worship* 

of God's worshippers, and have a place in his earthly 
courts, and have the "outward and visible sign" of his 
ordinances, unless we are also partakers of the inesti- 
mable blessings which characterise the assemblies of the 
faithful,— ^unless we have the " inward and spiritual 
grace" of the institutions of the church on earth, and 
are daily advancing in a meetness for the heavenly 
glory. The exaltation which now distinguishes us in 
regard to our privileges, will only serve to make the 
depth of our abasement more conspicuous, and more 
afflicting, if those privileges be not improved. The 
glory which now adorns our sanctuaries in the posses* 
sion of the pure, unadulterated Word of God, and the 
administration of the solemn rites of Christianity, will 
depart, and be succeeded by the gloom and the horror 
of everlasting darkness, if that Word is slighted^ and 
those sacraments perverted and abused. 

When God is pleased to make the ministrations of 
the sanctuary effectual to the renovation of the sinner, 
he not only sets his feet in a right way, but also esta- 
blishes his goings : not only are his inclinations and af- 
fections turned into a right channel, but they are also 
made to flow on in an undeviating course. The strength 
which cometh from God, is not simply a conferring by 
one act of grace of a definite stock or supply of Divine 
influence ; but it is the " daily bread" by which the 
soul is nourished ; the wants of each succeeding day are 
met by a continued grant of spiritual strength ; there 
is no private reservoir from which a man may take in- 
dependently after the first bestowment, but each one 
drinks of a stream that follows him through the whole 
of his earthly pilgrimage ; and therefore the worship of 
God becomes a life service; for there is no such thing 
as receiving strength once for all. The christian does 
not pray for spiritual blessings, and then cease to want 



Off PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



129 



a further supply; bis wants are daily wants, and the 
blessings of God are ministered according to the con- 
stant recurrence of his necessities. 

It is this continuance of the worship of God, which 
is one great source of joy and gratification to the re- 
newed soul ; his sentiments correspond with those of 
David when he exclaimed in his passionate longing for 
the restoration of the communion of the sanctuary, 
" How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts ! 
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house; they will be 
still praising thee." He often gains in the service of 
the earthly temple, an antepast of the pure and pe- 
rennial worship of the celestial world. His desires for 
that glorious state are increased by the similarity in na- 
ture, between the enjoyments of this lower court of the 
temple, and those of the holiest of all ; and his hopes 
of at length attaining to that unspeakable glory, are 
animated by the cheering experience of a growth and 
advance in the Divine life, by an attendance on the 
public and appointed means of grace. 

A continued attendance on the worship of God be- 
comes a duty to the christian, not merely from the 
command of God, but also from the advantage which 
he derives from the observance. It is not merely in the 
light of a duty that he regards this service, he values it 
also as a privilege; and thus his obedience has a twofold 
security, one arising from the express command and 
authority of God, the other from his own spiritual be- 
nefit. Therefore those who neglect to attend on the 
public ministrations of the Sabbath, or whose partial 
attendance, and light and trifling demeanour while en- 
gaged in them, show that their minds are unimpressed 
with the solemnity of the duty, do by their conduct 
give so many proofs of their incapacity to enjoy the 
heavenly glory. For a meetness for heaven must con- 



130 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



sist not only in the pardon of our sins, and the justi- 
fication of our persons by the righteousness and obedi- 
ence of Christ, but also in a very eminent degree in the 
continued weakening of that natural antipathy, which 
we feel to every engagement of a spiritual nature, and 
in the gradual implantation and cherishing of those 
holy dispositions of mind, which will qualify us for the 
enjoyment of heaven, and enable us to find a pleasure 
in taking part in its employments, as well as in the 
participation of its happiness. 

Whatever has a tendency to promote this meetness 
for the spiritual services, and the exalted felicity of the 
heavenly state, will ever be in great estimation in the 
mind of a christian ; and among the means which are 
effectual in producing this holy temper and disposition, 
the public worship of God ranks very high in eminence. 
Like those alterative medicines, which insensibly effect a 
beneficial change in the constitution of the body, the 
sacred exercises of the House of God have a salutary 
influence on the soul, softening the hard heart, raising 
to the desire of the noblest objects the affections which 
are too much set on earthly things, inclining the will 
to an habitual determination for God, and making his 
fear an abiding and ever-operating principle, and che- 
rishing and strengthening and establishing that practice, 
and those sentiments and dispositions, which are suited 
to the proper discharge of all the duties which we owe 
to each other, to ourselves, and to God. 

Not that these blessed consequences take place ordi- 
narily without any fluctuation in degree, for they are 
scarcely perceptible at some periods of the christian life, 
while at others the mind receives great and sensible ac- 
cessions of light, and power, and inward consolation, 
from the operation of their full and steady force. Were 
there no interruptions in the progress of the renewed 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



131 



soul towards heaven, no draw-backs from inward de- 
pravity and external temptation, the present could 
scarcely be called an imperfect state. Yet is there a 
sufficiency of benefit derived, and a perceptible increase 
made to the stock of christian graces, to keep the be- 
liever close in his attendance on the place where blessings 
of such magnitude are dispensed, and constant in his 
application to the fountain whence such living waters 
flow. 

In the christian life, as before stated, the advantages 
attending the observance of the worship of God, are 
not always uniform. The tide of consolation ebbs as 
well as flows ; the benefits derived from ordinances are 
not always equal in degree; much dulness and insipidity 
is occasionally felt; christians are sometimes in a manner 
"detained before the Lord," contrary to their inclinations. 
But these variations do not result from any changeable- 
ness in God ; he does not dispense the promised aid of 
his Spirit in a capricious manner, nor withhold it merely 
in the exercise of sovereign power ; they do not pro- 
ceed from any defect in the means of grace, as if their 
virtue was exhausted, and they were unable to produce 
for a continuance those interesting and blessed effects, 
which attended the earlier periods of the christian's ex- 
perience. These unhappy fluctuations are the conse- 
quence of our own departures from God; they may 
always be traced to this fatal source. We first forsake 
" the fountain of living waters," and then proceed to 
" hew out unto ourselves broken cisterns ;" and what 
can be expected from such a procedure, but that we 
should lose that consolation and that vigour in the spi- 
ritual life, which are produced only by the " river of the 
waters of life, whose streams make glad the city of God," 
and by whose verdant banks alone the trees of righte- 
ousness bear fruti in their season. The light of God's 



132 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



countenance is without a shadow, the Sun of righteous- 
ness shines ever with meridian strength and splendour, 
but the transgressions which have gone over our heads, 
form clouds, thick clouds, which intercept the^heavenly 
rays, so that his face cannot shine upon us. The Word 
of God has lost none of its virtue, but is still mighty 
and powerful, but our hearts are often made callous by 
yielding to the benumbing influence of worldly pursuits, 
and are steeled against the reproof and instruction of 
the Scriptures, by frequent indulgence in secret declen- 
sions of heart, or open violations of God's law. We 
go not " from strength to strength" without intermission, 
in the way to the celestial Sion, because our feet are too 
often drawn aside into the devious paths of error and 
transgression. 

As long as the heart is " right with God," the spirit 
will be "steadfast in his covenant." The christian first 
becomes a backslider in heart, and then his comforts 
expire, and his spiritual strength decays. The Word 
of God becomes as it were an uninteresting book to him ; 
he looks into this glass, and considers the faithful re- 
presentation which it gives of the features of his mind 
and of his character ; but, having closed the book, he 
goes his way, and " straightway forgets what manner 
of person he was.- — We are prone to value the gifts more 
than the graces of the Holy Spirit. We often look less 
for spirituality than for fluency in our prayers : it is not 
surprising then that the observance of this duty some- 
times degenerates into mere formality, and is performed 
without the lifting up of the soul to God, and conse- 
quently without any sensible benefit. If we pray 
without fervour, and sincerity, and expectation, we 
cannot reasonably complain of disappointment in the 
issue of our prayers. 

TJicre is sometimes a winter in the soul of the chyis- 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



133 



tjan ; and then, as in the natural world, all bloom, all 
beauty, and growth cease. But as the winter and its 
desolating rigours were brought on the earth by the sin 
of man, so by his backslid ings, which grieve the Holy 
^ Spirit, is the cheering and vivifying influence of the 
Sun of righteousness suspended. Comfort and pro- 
gress in the christian course depend on consistency 
of conduct. Increase of faith, hope, and love, is at 
no time independent of stability in the ways of God. 
As the lofty mountain, whose top so far exceeds the 
clouds that " eternal sunshine settles on its head," owes 
its eminence, and its serenity, and its security, to the 
hold which its broad and ample base takes on the solid 
earth ; so the christian, how high soever he may rise in 
knowledge, in hope, in enjoyment, is safe in the ten- 
ure of his superior attainments only so long as he cleaves 
to God with purpose of heart, and rests on the founda- 
tion of his Word, "Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
corner stone." Consistency of conversation maintains 
peace with God, and this peace produces strength to walk 
before him with sincerity and steadfastness. And this 
consistency, and this peace, and this steadfastness, are 
all promoted by the "strength" which is found in the 
sanctuary. The sacred services confirm, establish, and 
nourish every christian grace. " Those that be planted 
in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of 
our God." "The way of the Lord is strength to the 
upright." It is not only the maintenance, but the in- 
crease of strength ; " The righteous shall flourish like a 
fir-tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." 

Self- righteousness and unbelief are the bane of the 
christian's peace and strength. Like the leprosy of old, 
which infected even the stones and the timber of the 
edifice, they enter in some degree into every religious 
service, and follow the christian into his closet and 



134 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



into the House of God. Thus if at any time we 
have had an enlargement of desires, a freedom of ut- 
terance before God, and a fervency of spirit in prayer, 
do we not sometimes find the popish notion of superer- 
ogation gaining admittance into our minds ? Have we 
not felt puffed up, as though we had in some sort gone 
beyond the requirements of the Word of God, and 
were more than safe ? And thus we are thrown off our 
guard ; we become less vigilant and circumspect, and 
the consequence of our self-righteous elevation is a loss 
of ground, a retrograde movement in the race that is 
set before us. Faith and repentance lead us to look to 
Jesus; self-righteousness and pride draw back our regards 
to our duties as forming some part of the foundation of 
our trust. Do we never find that neglect or formality 
in duty is followed by a distrust of our state, as though 
the salvation of Christ were thus rendered imperfect ? 
Our remissness should lead us to repentance ; and our 
enjoyment in the worship of God should increase faith 
and hope in the perfect work of Jesus, as the sole ground 
of our acceptance with God. 

Cheerfulness and holy joy are important branches of 
spiritual worship. An inordinate attachment to the 
world often casts a damp upon these enjoyments : and 
the weakness of faith often causes us to overlook our 
privileges. If our hearts were at all times " right with 
God," and our faith steady, we should ever " rejoice 
in hope of his glory ;" and believing ourselves to be in 
a state reconciliation with God, and having a conver- 
sation becoming such a state, we should always " serve 
the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence 
with singing :" we should " enter into his gates with 
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise." The 
holy joy and spiritual strength which we obtained in 
the sanctuary, would be the surest guard against the 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



135 



delusions of the world and the " pleasures of sin, which 
are but for a season," because we should find that our 
joy was never increased by any participation of earthly 
pleasures, but always deteriorated ; and instead of 
gaining an accession to our spiritual strength by being 
conformed to the world, we should find ourselves weak- 
ened, and thrown back in our heavenly course. We 
can look towards heaven only by taking our regards 
from the earth. 

If we are believers, it is our privilege always to call 
upon God as our Father. But how often do we approach 
his throne with slavish fears and suspicions ! How often 
do we go to the public worship of God with reluctance ! 
We think it well when the service is passed over ; and 
we often depart without any sensible benefit, because 
we have lost confidence towards God. The very service 
that should remove these doubts, and this gloom, and 
this unwillingness of spirit, becomes itself a part of the 
weight that oppresses us. The bounties of Providence, 
and the richer blessings of Grace, seem insufficient to 
quiet our unreasonable fears. We think of God and 
are troubled, instead of being filled with peace. The 
awe, and reverence, and fear, with which we should at 
all times approach our God, seem to absorb the whole 
mind, and leave no place for the exercise of joy, and 
confidence. Our faith seems at times to embrace only 
the greatness, and power, and holiness, and justice of 
God, and not to have respect at the same time to his mercy, 
and love, and grace ; it seems to be " an evidence of 
things not seen," less than "the substance of things 
hoped for." We deprecate the anger of God, and 
crave his protection, but do not flee to him sufficiently 
as a "refuge," and a " hiding-place." 

These unhappy contradictions in the christian expe- 
rience, proceed from a selfishness of spirit which pervades 



136 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



all our religious character. We forget that we have 
obligations as well as privileges, and duties as well as 
necessities. While we are earnest with God in prayer 
for comfort, for the light of his countenance, and the 
joys of his salvation, we should also come before bim 
with rejoicing, and serve him with willing minds, and 
"be thankful unto him, and bless his name." We 
should not only desire peace, but "follow after holiness." 
Then should we draw nigh to God as sons, instead of 
serving him as slaves; we should hail the approach, 
and love the continuance of the stated services of Divine 
worship. In them we should say, " it is good to be 
here;" and after them, our language would be, it has 
been good for us to wait upon the Lord. Then the 
apostolic command, " Rejoice in the Lord alway," 
would be fulfilled by us with alacrity. Then might we 
" rejoice" in the reflection how dear the salvation of man 
was in the sight of God, who withheld not his own Son 
from death that he might accomplish it, but sent him 
forth " that he might destroy the works of the Devil, 
and make us sons of God, and heirs of eternal life." 
Then might we " rejoice" in the amazing love of the 
Son, who gave himself for us,— " rejoice" in his com- 
passion, his almighty power to save, his pity and his 
sympathy. Then might we " rejoice" in the comforts 
of the Holy Spirit, who teaches, sanctifies, and en- 
lightens us. 

And finally we should be glad when it was said to 
us, " let us go into the house of the Lord ;" we should 
find peace in the hope of acceptance in every service ; 
and derive " strength" from the worship both of the 
sanctuary and of the closet. And as an encouragement 
to cheerfulness, and confidence in our worship, we 
should constantly bear in our remembrance that He who 
took our nature, and bare our sorrows and our sins, is 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



137 



our Mediator with God, that the way of access to the Fa- 
ther is through him, that we can present all our services 
to God in his name, looking for the acceptance of our 
praises, and a gracious answer to our prayers, because 
he "ever liveth to make intercession for us." 

We proposed to consider also the order, which should 
prevail in the public service of God's house. When 
David in his exhortation to praise God for his greatness 
and majesty, observed that " beauty was in his sane* 
tuary," he alluded, doubtless, to the grandeur, and 
pomp, and solemnity of the Jewish ritual. The cost* 
liness of the materials, both for the vestments of the 
priests, and the furniture of the sanctuary, the gold, 
and the precious stones, the incense, and the sacrifices, 
the harmony of voices and of musical instruments, and 
above all, the presence of God " between the two che* 
rubims upon the Ark of the Testimony," constituted 
this beauty. But there is also the beauly of order, of 
simplicity, and of solemnity, in the service of the 
christian sanctuary* There is beauty in what meets the 
eye, but it consists chiefly in the spiritual service offered 
up by the worshippers. If religious worship be rightly 
understood, it will always be considered as a solemn 
transaction between God and the soul. It is not merely 
a service, in which a number of persons assemble together 
to assist in performing a stated ceremony, but it is a 
personal, an individual concern, in which the heart 
must take the chief part ; it is a service commanded by 
God, prompted by the conscience, and discharged by 
the soul. " God is a spirit ; and they that worship 
him, must worship him in spirit and in truth." 

It must be a spiritual, a free, a voluntary service. 
When the antient tabernacle was about to be erected in 
the wilderness, Moses was commanded to take an of- 
fering only of such as gave it willingly with their heart. 

T 



138 



OS PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



Without this freeness of the spirit, the service can nei- 
ther be acceptable to God nor beneficial to ourselves. 
We are required to love the Lord with all our heart, 
and soul, and strength ; but this love is quite incompatible 
with heartless prayers, spiritless and feeble praises, and 
an indifference to the truths of the Gospel. God is 
worthy of our most fervent love; we therefore dishonour 
him when our worship proceeds from the mere constraint 
of formal custom, or is only the dull, monotonous act 
of habit. Where there is sincerity in devotion, there 
will be life, and vigour, and earnestness. If we wor- 
ship God in truth, we shall also worship him with fer- 
vency of spirit. And if we expect and desire to reap 
some advantage from the service of God, we cannot be 
heedless and inattentive worshippers. The lowest de- 
gree of spirituality must be accompanied at least with 
attention. 

Every part of the service is important, because every 
part may be profitable to our souls, and for the manner 
in which we improve it we are accountable to God. 
This accountability is perhaps quite overlooked by many 
persons. They go up to the worship of God with a 
sort of independent spirit, to perform that service, which, 
although they acknowledge it to be a duty, yet do they 
discharge, as though it were altogether unconnected 
with their obligations to God as his creatures; it is 
with them an insulated service, in no wise related to 
their future conduct in this life, or to their future 
account in that which is to come. 

Some, again, divide the service, making one part es- 
sential, and another of minor importance. These sup- 
pose it enough to be in time to hear the sermon, and that 
every end of Divine worship is answered in attending 
to the instructions from the pulpit. Such persons, it is 
to be feared, come to a place of worship, more with a 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 139 



wish to be pleased, than with a desire to be edified; 
more for the purpose of approving or disapproving what 
the preacher advances, than of trying themselves by 
the Word of God, and receiving strength and encou- 
ragement to press forward in the ways of holiness, and 
gaining and strengthening a spirit of prayer. " Praying 
is the end of preaching," and a very fit introduction to 
it. Timely attendance at public worship is no incon- 
siderable proof of a right disposition of mind. It pre- 
vents interruption to others, secures a short pause for 
the recollection of the grand object which we profess to 
have in view, and is likely to induce a calm solemnity 
of spirit, so necessary to profitable and acceptable 
worship. 

There is beauty eminently attending the service of 
God, because it is consonant to the original constitution 
of our nature. Man was created to serve, and praise, 
and glorify his Creator. Herein consists his true free- 
dom. Unless we feel this service to be our true liberty, 
and discover a real beauty in it, we shall be ready to 
account it a weariness, a trouble, a burden, and to 
reckon the time spent in it as so much subtracted from 
our pleasures, as so much taken from real enjoyment; 
and the duty will be discharged as a penance, and not 
as a free-will offering. 

If we have innumerable mercies to be thankful for, 
then is praise an indispensable part of the worship of 
God; if we have blessings to supplicate of infinite 
value, and without which our souls must die, then is 
prayer a most important branch of public worship ; if 
we need doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction 
in righteousness, — if faith is essential to salvation, and 
comes by hearing the Word of God, then is preaching 
an institution of incalculable benefit. And there is a 
beauty attendant on the order in which these services 
are performed. 



140 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



Before we enter on the consideration of the several 
parts of the public service of God, we must offer a few 
remarks on the simplicity and solemnity which should 
characterize every branch of the worship. Human in* 
ventions in the service of God are strictly forbidden ; 
that is, so far as regards doctrines, and the imposing of 
any particular ritual on mens' consciences as indispen- 
sably necessary to salvation. No strange incense was 
allowed to be offered on God's altar under the law ; (see 
Exod. xxx. 9.) and under the Gospel "there is none 
other name under heaven given among men whereby we 
must be saved," but the name of Christ. There is no 
other foundation for a sinner's hope than the death and 
righteousness of the Lord Jesus, and 66 if any man 
build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, 
wood, hay, stubble ; every man's work shall be made 
manifest ; and the fire shall try every man's work ; — 
If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss." 
So that human inventions cannot benefit the soul, only 
so far as they are " gold," or <f silver ;" if they cannot 
stand the fiery trial of God's judgment, that is, if they 
did not assist the devotion of the worshipper, and add 
beauty and solemnity to the order of worship, they will 
not profit those who exercised themselves therein ; nay, 
such shall suffer the loss of all their useless and unedi- 
fying ceremonial, 

There is one advantage to be derived from the mul- 
tiplicity of religious opinions in the world, the greater 
opportunity is offered for the exercise of christian cha- 
rity and candour. But we should be careful to distin- 
guish between charity, and indifference ; between can- 
dour, and a total disregard for the truth. A feeling of 
common infirmity should induce us to be tender of the 
consciences of others, but we should never be indifferent 
whether the fundamental doctrines of the Bible be re^ 



ON PURLTC WORSHIP. 



141 



ceived or rejected. If among the various conflicting 
sentiments of professed christians, there be " old wives' 
fables," which are to be refused, there is also a " form 
of sound words," which is to be held fast ; and if there 
be " foolish questions," which are to be avoided, there 
are also " damnable heresies," which will bring on their 
promoters " swift destruction." The evil in all cases of 
difference as to religious opinion is, that men do not 
contend so much for the Word of God, as for their own 
particular interpretation of that Word ; and often when 
they profess to be earnestly endeavouring to maintain 
the " faith which was once delivered unto the saints," 
they are only striving to uphold their own opinions. 
But if persons were more careful to distinguish between 
mere opinions and fundamental doctrines, we should 
find all christian communities less tenacious of their own 
particular forms and ceremonies of worship, and more 
disposed to receive others as brethren on the ground of 
their being christians, than of their holding with any 
particular set of opinions. The unity of the church, 
which forms so essential a part of our Lord's last prayer 
to the Father, consists in having one common foundation 
of dependance and trust for salvation, and not in an 
agreement in any set form or order of worship ; it con- 
sists in unity of spirit, and not of ceremonial ; in the uni- 
formity of a holy life and a sanctified heart, and not 
in a similarity of external rites ; in conforming to the 
will of Christ, and in bearing his image, and not in 
complying with the regulations of any particular com- 
munity, and wearing any peculiar badge or outward 
garment ; in being members of Christ's catholic church 
of the faithful, and not a member of this or that deno- 
mination of christians.* 

* "Sit una fides universse ecclesice, etiamsi ipsa fidei 
unitas quibusdam diversis observationibus celebretur, quibus 



142 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



Under the Old Testament dispensation, every part of 
the ceremonial ritual was particularised with the most 
minute and exact detail, embracing even the smallest 
circumstances. But there is no Divine command which 
can be shown, respecting the ceremonial constitution of 
a christian church. We only read of what was done in 
this respect by the Apostles and disciples of our Lord; 
but we know not what they would have done, in regard 
to the establishment of any particular form of public 
worship, and many other points now so fiercely disputed, 
had they not been prevented by what St. Paul terms 
"the present distress" of the pagan and persecuting 
times in which they lived. In different countries, among 
persons of different habits, various modes of worship 
will prevail. The best rule seems to be, The more sim- 
ple, the more scriptural. But here caution is required, 
lest in rejecting what are deemed superfluous shoots and 
useless branches, the pruning knife should be used too 
freely, and healthy and fruitful boughs be struck off, 
and the beauty and produce of the garden of the Lord 
be thereby marred and weakened. There is a wide dif- 
ference between naked deformity, and the tinsel and 
frippery of meretricious decoration. Men retain all 
the peculiarities of their nature, after they have become 
christians ; and they may be much aided in their devo- 
tions by those forms which, previously to their regene- 
ration, were nothing more than the mere substitutes for 
religion — -signs habitually used, with a total disregard 
to the things signified. 

Nothing of human invention should be introduced 
into the public worship of God, further than is abso- 
lutely necessary or beneficial. Nothing should be sanc- 

nullo modo quod in fide verum est, impeditur. Omnis enim 
puichritudo Jilice regis intrinsecus : illoe autem observationes 
quae varie celebrantur, in ejus veste intelliguntur." Augustine. 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



143 



tioned which is meant, or tends merely, to gratify the 
outward senses, to please the carnal mind, or amuse the 
mere formal and careless worshipper. The " pomp 
and circumstance" of Roman worship, were introduced 
to attract men from the service of idols, and in conformity 
to the prejudices of those who had renounced their 
idolatrous worship. Thus the feelings which should 
have been banished from the mind, were cherished ; 
and that false worship, which should have been opposed 
and combated in all its parts, as most odious and abo- 
minable in the sight of God, was in some degree coun- 
tenanced and imitated. This was no proof either of 
the sincerity of such converts, or of the piety of those 
who called themselves ministers of the holy and self- 
denying religion of Jesus. For had the former been 
true converts, had their hearts been changed as well as 
their profession, we may reasonably suppose there 
would have been no danger of disgusting and offending 
them, with the sudden transition from the gorgeous ser- 
vice of a Pagan temple, to the simple and unostentatious 
worship of a christian church. And had the piety of 
the latter been spiritual and scriptural, they would have 
shrunk from the meanness of making any improper 
concessions to Pagan prejudices and errors ; or consenting 
to any thing which bore the appearance of com- 
promise. 

When a great portion of the service consists in rites 
and ceremonies of mere human authority, there is but 
little room left for the exercise of the internal worship 
©f the spirit, which is indeed the only valuable part of 
the service, inasmuch as it only is acceptable to God, 
or profitable to man. Where so much stress is laid on 
the outward form, the inward and spiritual grace is 
likely to be forgotten and neglected by the great body 
of worshippers, who are in danger of substituting an 



144 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



unmeaning form, for that worship which is acceptable 
only so far as it is performed in spirit and in truth. 

With respect to Singing the praises of God in our 
religious assemblies, it is a very antient custom, and 
has in all ages been considered as an important branch 
of Divine worship. And in Scripture it is represented 
as constituting a principal part of the service in the 
heavenly temple above. Singing seems to be a natural 
mode of testifying the cheerfulness of the spirit, and 
is therefore very properly introduced into the worship 
of God, as the medium of expressing before him the 
gladness of our hearts for the blessings of Providence 
and of Grace, and of ascribing to Him glory and praise 
for his works of creation and redemption. What sight 
is more pleasing, than a whole assembly rising to cele- 
brate the praises of God ; what sounds are more grate- 
ful, than the harmony of a congregation of christians, 
<£ speaking to each other in psalms and hymns and 
spiritual songs ; singing with grace, and making melody 
in their hearts to the Lord !" 

Tn order to render this service as much resembling 
the worship of heaven, as earthly devotion can approach 
to celestial adoration, it should consist chiefly of praise 
and thanksgiving. The introduction of doctrinal sub- 
jects, as expressions of a belief in any particular creed, 
(which are more properly enforced from the pulpit,) or 
subjects of complaint and lamentation, (which should 
form matter of prayer,) cannot perhaps be entirely 
avoided, although such subjects do not seem con- 
sonant to the nature and design of the service. When 
the Israelites were in Babylon, they hung up their 
harps; they could not sing the songs of Sion, in the 
laud of their captivity. — Is the christian worshipper 
under the influence of mournful and desponding feel- 
ings of heart : — is he oppressed by many troubles and 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



145 



sorrows? let him listen to the advice of St. James, <£ Is 
any afflicted let him pray ?" The same Apostle gives the 
direction, " Is any merry, let him sing psalms ?" so 
that the subjects of our sacred songs should be an ex- 
pression of praise, and the christian should make this 
the predominant character of his " spiritual songs,'* 
though he be constrained to join in them sometimes with 
a heavy heart. We are invited by the psalmist to " sing 
unto the Lord, and heartily to rejoice in the strength 
of our salvation, to show ourselves glad in him with 
psalms, to serve him with gladness, and to come before 
his presence with a song." Even the inanimate objects 
of creation, sun, and moon, and stars, earth, and sea, 
are called upon to join in ascribing praises to the Uni- 
versal Father. Let our cheerful songs then form a part 
of this chorus of joy and gratefulness, and let us mingle 
our expressions of thanksgiving, with the united harmony 
of heaven above and of the earth beneath; that the 
whole creation may offer one hymn of grateful praise 
to the common Benefactor of all. 

The position of body assumed in this exercise, is also 
not without its importance, inasmuch as in some degree 
it indicates the spirit of the worshipper, and is either a 
help or a hinderance to the devotion. If singing be a 
part of the worship of God, then the custom of sitting 
during its performance seems unbecoming, because 
sitting is not a posture of worship. There is something 
peculiarly animating, in the custom of a whole assembly 
rising at o/ice to celebrate the praises of God ; it has a 
tendency to excite the lively and grateful feel ings of the 
heart, and to bring forcibly to our recollection the na- 
ture of the service in which we profess to engage. 
Every one must allow that there should be an agree- 
ment between the conduct of the worshipper and the 
service which he offers ; and it seems natural for an in- 

u 



146 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



ferior being to rise and stand in the presence of his su- 
perior. Do the angels sit before the throne of God! 
The posture of standing to sing the praises of God, has 
always been the custom in the church of God. " Stand 
up, and bless the Lord your God for ever and ever," 
■was the invitation to the children of Israel, when the 
Levites called upon them to praise God. And among 
the primitive christians " sitting was ever held a posture 
of great rudeness and irreverence;"* the congregation 
generally stood even during the greater part of the whole 
service of the Lord's day. 

In some places of worship, instrumental music has 
been introduced to assist the singing of the congrega- 
tion, and to render it more regular and harmonious. 
Where this end is answered, and no other is aimed at, 
the use of musical instruments seems free from any rea- 
sonable objection, and is indeed commendable. But 
when the service is thereby transformed into a mere 
performance, instead of being a service in which the 
spirit and the understanding are unitedly engaged ; and 
when a variety of light and airy tunes is introduced 
for the purpose of displaying musical talent, or to gra- 
tify vain and trifling minds, it were far better to return 
to the dull but sober, to the obsolete but serious com- 
positions of Sternhold and Hopkins, chaunted in the 
old and simple melodies of our fore-fathers. On this 
ground it would be desirable, where organs are used, 
to abolish what has very properly been called the " un- 
seasonable and unmeaning impertinence of a volun- 
tary." This performance being necessarily unaccom- 
panied with words, forms no part of the worship. The 
congregation are suddenly placed in the situation of an 
auditory, listening to the execution of a piece of music, 
and the place of worship becomes for a time an arena 
* Cave's Prim. Christ, c. 9. 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



147 



for the exhibition of the organist, whose sole object 
must be to set oif to the utmost his skill and knowledge 
in the science of harmonics. 

The spiritual nature of every part of the service of 
God, can never be too strongly urged ; and this single 
consideration has led many persons to banish all kinds 
of instrumental music from a place of worship. But 
surely there is a lawful use of them, and where this is 
obtained, they will render a valuable assistance to the 
congregation, in the discharge of the delightful and so- 
cial exercise of singing. The worship of heaven is re- 
presented in the Apocalyptic vision as consisting partly 
of instrumental, and partly of vocal harmony. The 
redeemed stand before the throne, " having the harps of 
God," while Ci they sing the song of Moses, and the 
song of the Lamb." If it be said that such expressions 
are not to be taken in their literal signification, but as 
figurative language, used to describe the employments 
of the blessed, in condescension to our earthly ideas; 
this is in truth no solid objection against either the law- 
fulness or the expediency of introducing instrumental 
music into our places of worship, but rather an* argu- 
ment in favour of such a practice ; for that which the 
Divine Spirit has not esteemed too gross to be made use 
of, in setting forth to our conceptions the nature of the 
celestial worship, cannot be judged unfit to be em- 
ployed in assisting our devotional exercises in earthly 
temples. 

Prayer to God is so essential and solemn a part of 
religious service, that nothing which has a tendency to 
assist us in the discharge of this sacred duty, can be 
deemed uninteresting and unimportant. It is not in- 
tended here to enter into any remarks on the nature of 
prayer, but briefly to discuss the comparative claims of 
extemporaneous prayer, and of precomposed, written 



148 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



forms. One advantage attending the former is supposed 
to be a tendency to produce greater liveliness and at- 
tention in the worshippers, and more fervour and ear- 
nestness in the minister ; another is that it enables him 
who leads the devotion of the assembly, to suit his pe- 
titions and thanksgivings to the peculiar character of 
the times, to the circumstances of the neighbourhood, 
and to such individual cases in his congregation as may 
be known to him. So that he can give thanks for mer- 
cies received, and offer up petitions for blessings that 
are needed, with particular reference to the cases brought 
before his notice ; and he that offers praise, or he that 
comes with a heavy heart under the pressure of trouble 
and sorrow, may feel himself more powerfully induced 
to join in the service, when he perceives that his own 
personal case is forming the subject of the minister's 
address to the Throne of Grace. 

These advantages, however, are thought by some 
more than counterbalanced by the disadvantages which 
attend extempore prayer. Such prayers are always 
too brief to comprehend the united interests of a con- 
gregation, a neighbourhood, a country, the catholic 
church, and the whole world. It would require too 
great an effort in the officiating minister, to prolong this 
part of the service to a sufficient extent to embrace all 
these topics with any circumstantial detail. And what- 
ever care may be employed, it is impossible that a si- 
milarity of expression should not occur, and a similarity 
in the structure of prayers not be visible, amounting 
almost to the use of a form, without its advantages. 
Where the prayer is thus necessarily abridged, an undue 
length of time is generally devoted to the sermon ; and 
many persons are thus led to look on the prayer with 
an inferior regard, and to esteem preaching as the 
chief part of the service on the Lord's day. 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



149 



A written form of prayer is supposed to prevent any 
doubt arising in the mind of the worshipper, whether 
he can give his assent to the petitions about to be offered 
up. When present at extemporaneous prayer, he is 
under the necessity of suspending, as it were, the desires 
of his soul, till the conclusion of a sentence shall have 
put him in the possession of the design of the petitioner, 
and enabled him to add his hearty Amen. Prayer is 
made in this case more an exercise of the judgment 
than of the affections. We cannot at all times be in 
circumstances, which will allow us to ascertain the piety 
and the sentiments of him, who is to officiate in offering 
up the devotions of the congregation ; and without this 
previous knowledge, we cannot be prepared to join in 
spirit and in truth in, those petitions which are about to 
be offered by him, according to the present suggestions 
of his mind. The knowledge and prudence of persons 
who discharge the sacred office of the ministry, are by 
no means always in proportion to their piety. Hence 
the minds of the worshippers are not secure from offence, 
by the use of improper expressions, too familiar to be 
addressed to the Infinite Majesty of heaven and of earth, 
or too low to be employed in connexion with subjects 
of infinite importance. 

In public extempore prayer, every one is subject to 
have the train of thought which suggests his petitions, 
broken in upon by sudden distractions ; hence we often 
hear a sentence commenced, which, from the uncon- 
nected way in which it is completed, evidently shows 
that no precise, no defined petition was clearly conceived 
in the mind of the speaker. The awful attributes of 
God, and the hallowed appellations by which he is ad- 
dressed, are sometimes recited so frequently and unne- 
cessarily, as to bring him that speaks under the charge 
of using vain repetitions, and of being guilty of a vio- 



150 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



lation of the third command of the Decalogue. It would 
be better to make a silent pause, than thus to employ 
the titles of the Deity as mere expletives, till we can so 
far recover our thoughts as to frame a new petition. 

All these evils, and they are not of small magnitude, 
are prevented by the use of a form with which we are 
previously acquainted. And why may not all the ad- 
vantages which are supposed to attend extemporaneous 
prayer, be enjoyed with the use of a precomposed form, 
made comprehensive enough to notice generally all the 
afflictive events which befal mortal men, and all the 
blessings which a God of mercy is continually dis- 
pensing to his unworthy creatures ? Every individual 
according to his peculiar circumstances, might appro- 
priate a certain petition, or a certain thanksgiving, to 
his own private case, and thus offer to God a lively sa- 
crifice, attended with an effort of the understanding. 
And in extraordinary cases of affliction, or of gracious 
deliverance, an individual may be noticed even by 
name, as desiring an interest in the prayers of the con- 
gregation, or calling upon them to join in assisting him 
to give praise to God^ 

The same blessings are supplicated by all christians, 
in all assemblies for religious worship, with this differ- 
ence only, that the same words are not always used by 
those who employ extemporaneous prayer; while those 
who adopt a precomposed form, come to God from 
time to time, not only with the same desires, but ex- 
press them also in the same language. Let those chris- 
tians who conscientiously adhere to the former practice, 
guard against any want of reverence, against the in- 
vention of expressions to be put in the place of prayer, 
while the heart is dull, and the mind a complete blank ; 
against using words, with a secret reference to the ap- 
plause of those who listen, and thus exalting the gift 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



151 



of prayer, to the depreciation of the spirit and grace of 
that holy service. And let those who are sincerely at- 
tached to those forms of prayer, which are venerable for 
their antiquity, and beautiful for their simplicity and 
solemnity, take heed lest their devotion be no more 
than a form, lest they substitute the regular and unva- 
rying repetition of " sound words," for the power and 
life of godliness, and be satisfied with that " bodily ex- 
ercise" which profiteth not. Let them maintain a con- 
stant watchfulness of heart, lest their service be only 
that drawing near to God with the mouth, which is an 
abomination in his sight, because the heart is far from 
him — because the soul remains unengaged in the ex- 
ercise. 

It may not be improper to notice also the posture of 
body assumed in prayer. It is the custom in many 
congregations for all to stand during this part of the 
worship ; and this practice is not without the counte- 
nance of the early ages of Christianity. But the custom 
of standing during public prayer, was observed by the 
primitive christians only on the Lord's day ; and then 
not from any notion of its being a posture more suited 
to the duty than kneeling, but because they esteemed 
the Lord's day a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving, 
and therefore accounted it improper even to use a pos- 
ture, which did not seem to imply the gladness of their 
hearts. 

To defend the practice of standing during prayer, by 
any expressions of Scripture, which appear to sanction 
it, is not a proper mode of defence. The question is 
not whether standing be lawful, but whether kneeling 
be not a posture more agreeable to the duty. We may 
use the Apostle's argument, when writing against an 
indecent custom which had gained ground in the Co- 
rinthian church, and ask, " Does not nature itself teach" 



152 ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



us to assume the posture of kneeling, when supplicating 
the aid of a superior ? How much more, when we are 
calling at a set time, and in a solemn manner upon Him 
that made us 1 Most christians, it is presumed, kneel 
in their private devotions ; and no rational objection 
can be brought against the adoption of the custom in 
public. Some persons have however objected to it as 
inconvenient ; but even if this ought to have any weight 
when the worship of God is concerned, it does not ap- 
pear that the inconvenience can apply to any thing but 
the dress of the worshippers, which may certainly be 
somewhat discomposed by bending the knee ; but this 
objection is too frivolous to merit notice. Not only is 
kneeling a more natural and becoming posture, but it 
has a tendency to induce a degree of solemnity in the 
mind ; and it precludes many wandering thoughts and 
sinful imaginations, by narrowing the scene in which 
the roving eye might wander, in the foolish observance 
of the persons and dress of those who compose the as- 
sembly. 

Preaching is so important an ordinance in the chris- 
tian church, that when faithfully discharged, and di- 
ligently attended to, it is the grand means employed by 
the Divine Spirit in turning men from darkness to light, 
and bringing them from the bondage of Satan into the 
liberty of the children of God. Where there is earnest 
preaching, there will generally be attentive hearing. 
But many hearers seem to forget the object which they 
should have in view, when they listen to the instruction 
given from the pulpit ; they seem to expect to be con- 
firmed in all their preconceived opinions, and are willing 
to hear nothing but what exactly tallies with their own 
sentiments. They do not go so much to be instructed, 
as to be rooted and grounded in certain notions which 
they have adopted ; and they will never bear so much 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



153 



as to hear these questioned, much less controverted. 
Nay, their favourite doctrines must be enforced in 
every sermon, whether connected with the subject un- 
der discussion, or foreign to it ; if this is not done, they 
charge the minister either with opposing or suppressing 
what they call the truth. They require partial exhibi- 
tions of Divine Truth ; the promises of Scripture must 
be largely explained, but the commands are to be passed 
over as not of equal force, or they must be selected, 
and some only of a particular class enforced. A re- 
ligion of feelings and notions must form the basis of all 
the pulpit discussions, as the only true theme of evan- 
gelical preaching ; and every thing of a practical na- 
ture, must be laid aside as legal and slavish. The in- 
scrutable decrees of God must be attempted to be laid 
open with a daring hand, while a constant interdict is 
laid on all the scriptural invitations to sinners to return 
to God, on all the free and gracious offers of pardon 
and eternal life made to the whole world of mankind, 
and on all the commands which require holiness of heart 
and of life. The preacher must restrict the number of 
the redeemed to such only as agree with them in every 
article of their faith, and must learn to consign with ex- 
pressions of apparent satisfaction, the greater part of 
the human race to everlasting perdition. These persons 
sit more in the capacity of judges, than in the character 
of hearers: they hesitate not to pass a decided judg- 
ment on the preacher's faith and sincerity, as well as 
on his talents. This arrogance is mistaken by them 
for an earnest contending for the faith ; and their dog- 
matical spirit for a faithful adherence to evangelical 
doctrines. 

It is granted that we are not to listen to a sermon, 
with the same reverence with which we receive the Word 
of Inspiration, nor to give implicit credence to all that 

x 



154 



OX PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



is advanced from the pulpit. Christians are commanded 
to try the spirits whether they be of God, but they are 
to conduct this trial in the christian spirit of humility 
and charity, and by the rule of Holy Scripture, not by 
their own attainments or notions. An inflexible ad- 
herence to truth may be maintained without intolerance. 
We may discriminate without being- censorious, and 
judge without prejudice, and decide without bigotry. 
Opinions hastily formed and obstinately supported, are 
not proofs either of discernment or of piety. We do 
not find that the humble and tender-hearted, who are deep- 
ly convinced of sin— who hunger and thirst after righ- 
teousness, and whose souls are lively in enquiring u what 
is truth," are at any time censorious hearers. They 
are too sincere in their pursuit of Divine Truth, and too 
sensible of the importance of the salvation of the soul, 
and too jealous of their own hearts, to feel themselves 
at liberty to criticise the preacher, or to bring his doc- 
trine to the test of their own judgment. They desire 
rather to be instructed and edified, than amused ; and are 
disposed to overlook, rather than to magnify the defects 
of a preacher. 

Fastidiousness in hearers is a mark of diseased reli- 
gious opinions, or of declension in t-he warmth and 
zeal of that faith which worketh by love. When men 
slacken in their religious course, they are apt to rebuke 
others very sharply for real or supposed faults and de- 
fects. Those who are remiss in self-examination, are 
prone to become censorious hearers. They look less 
into their own hearts, and more into the deficiencies of 
the preacher. Self-application, which has justly been 
called the only end of hearing, is laid aside ; and they 
judge the preacher, instead of trying their own cha- 
racter by his instructions. If there be ground for men 
to bring charges against preachers, the latter have also 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



155 



too much cause to retort the charge. With a small al- 
teration, the sentiment of the poet may be applied to 
this subject, and we may justly say, 

" Ten censure wrong for one who speaks amiss." 

There is for the most part worse hearing than preaching : 
ministers are ordinarily more earnest, than their audi- 
tories are attentive: and defective indeed must that 
sermon be, from which a sincere and spiritually -minded 
person can derive no instruction — no benefit. " The 
worst speak something good," and the "true and honest 
heart" will discern that good, and receive it with 
thankfulness. 

A preacher has a solemn message from God to deliver 
to his fellow-men. Gravity and earnestness should 
therefore mark the whole of his deportment, both in 
and out of the pulpit. He that can use lightness in 
the pulpit, or excite a smile on the countenances of his 
hearers, must not complain that he has spent his strength 
for nought. The only fruits that can be expected from 
such trifling, are indifference, carelessness, and mockery 
at sin. Preachers who show by their conduct in life, 
that they are themselves unimpressed with those truths, 
which they charge on the consciences of men, and un- 
influenced by those things which they profess to enforce 
on others as all- important, do thwart the very design of 
the Gospel, and harden men in their sin, while they call 
them to repentance ; " for the sins of teachers, are the 
teachers of sin." Who can say how much of the open 
profaneness of some, and the secret hypocrisy of others, 
is chargeable on the unworthy conduct of those who 
minister in holy things," and are themselves unsanc- 
tified in heart and conversation ! 

Too great circumspection cannot be employed by 
those, whose office it is to examine and ordain candi- 



156 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



dates for the ministry. Piety towards God is undoubt- 
edly the chief consideration, but to this should be added 
talent, prudence, and some experience. It is a wise 
regulation in the Established Church, which allows not 
any to preach till they have attained, at least, the age 
of twenty-three years; but among other christian soci- 
eties, the sacred office is too frequently intrusted into the 
inexpert hands of youths, whose forwardness subse- 
quent events have shown to have been their chief quali- 
fication. Persons young in years, and younger in 
christian experience, who ought rather to be studying 
silence in the school of Pythagoras, than delivering 
sermons with supercilious authority, are placed in the 
pulpit to instruct men in the way of salvation, and are 
loaded with the ministerial charge before they have 
given any assurance of their own stability. This is the 
way to bring the office itself into contempt, on account 
of the incompetency of those who attempt to discharge 
it. 

The youth of Timothy, the young Bishop of Ephesus, 
ordained by the great Apostle of the Gentiles, is often 
adduced in defence of the custom of allowing youths to 
commence public preachers, as soon as they enter on 
their studies for the sacred ministry and before they 
have received ordination ; but it does not follow that 
Timothy was a boy, because St. Paul wrote to him, 
u Let no man despise thy youth." And he certainly 
possessed extraordinary qualifications for the office of a 
minister, to which we may suppose few of our stripling 
orators would venture to enforce a claim. Moreover, 
we should certainly hear less of our young Timothys, 
if we had aged Pauls to examine them, and pronounce 
on their fitness for the sacred office of ministers of Jesus 
Christ. 

The solemn consideration that on every Lord's day, 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



157 



there may be some in the congregation who are listening 
to their last sermon, to whom the Word of God will no 
more be addressed, to whom a final offer is made of the 
salvation that is by Jesus Christ, should operate with 
undiminished force in rousing the preacher's zeal, ear- 
nestness, fidelity, and affection, every time he discharges 
the office of a public instructor. A sense of the import- 
ance of his message, of the infinite value of the souls of 
men, and of the fearful weight of responsibility which 
attaches to his office, should discover itself in his lan- 
guage, his countenance, his gesture. He that preaches 
under such impressions, will be unwilling to terminate 
his address, till he sees some fruit of his labour, till his 
heart is encouraged by beholding in one and another of 
his hearers the silent tear of penitence, the earnest anx- 
iety of enquiry, and the animated countenance of the 
humble christian, lighted up with the smile of heavenly 
hope. 

u Take heed," said our Lord, " how ye hear." And 
it would be well for hearers to remember whenever they 
go up to the House of God, that they may perhaps hear 
something which will completely change their character, 
and form it in the mould of the Gospel, — that some por- 
tion of the Word of God may come to their hearts and 
conscience, <c with demonstration of the Spirit and with 
power," which will make them wise unto salvation, — 
which will give a new and heavenly direction to their 
pursuits, — which will fashion and sanctify all their fu- 
ture conduct, — which will give afresh and a holy impulse 
to their spirits, — which will influence the whole of their 
lives upon earth, and extend the consequences of that 
influence even into another world, and thus decide their 
lot for eternity. 

Even the edifice which is set apart for the celebration 
of Divine worship, derives an odour of sanctity from 



158 ON PUBLIC WORSHIP* 

the holy purpose to which it is devoted. Wherever the 
presence of God is more immediately displayed, the 
very ground is holy : " Put thy shoes from off thy feet* 
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground," 
was the first charge given to those in old time, to whom 
God vouchsafed to appear. Uncovering the head is 
esteemed by us an act of reverence ; but many persons 
enter the House of God with less outward respect, than 
they would discover on entering the house of a fellow- 
creature. In order to avoid superstitious regard for a 
building, it is not necessary to fall into irreverence to- 
wards Him for whose worship it has been erected. It 
may be esteemed a mark of good- breeding to enter an 
assembly with a light and airy carriage, and with be- 
coming assurance ; but when that assembly is met to- 
gether for the worship of the great God, such a deport- 
ment is profanity. The deepest humility of heart, a 
modest countenance, and a reverential deportment, 
are necessary when we enter the House of God. Even 
the heathen are a pattern to many christians in this re- 
spect, for they enter the temples of their idols with rev- 
erence and awe. It is also to be regretted that the good 
old custom of assuming a devotional attitude, for the 
purpose of a few moments silent prayer, on entering a 
place of worship, has grown very much into disuse : 
and the same may be observed of the silent pause for 
mental prayer, at the conclusion of a religious service ; 
and yet both these customs have a tendency to excite or 
to cherish right feelings in the heart. " Keep thy foot," 
says the wise man, " when thou goest to the house of 
God." 

There is yet another service which forms the most 
simple, and at the same time, the most solemn part of 
the ritual of a christian church — the Lord's Supper. 
Whether we consider the awful and affecting circum- 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



159 



stances connected with its institution, the final meet- 
ing of all the Apostles with their Lord, the catas- 
trophe to which it was the prelude, and the amazing 
love and wonderful condescension of Him who left this 
charge with his followers, " Do this in remembrance of 
me ; 99 or whether we regard the nature of the ordinance 
itself, tending to remind us of the means and author of 
our redemption, of the love of Him who when he knew 
the price of purchase was his own blood, drew not back 
from the dreadful engagement ; or contemplate the or- 
dinance as wisely adapted to encourage our faith, and, 
as a social service, to unite us in the bonds of brotherly 
love ; — in every point of view this is an institution ad- 
mirably calculated to awaken the most tender sensibili- 
ties of our nature, and to excite the best and most sacred 
feelings of our hearts. 

This ordinance, on account of the mystical language 
applied to the sacred elements by our Lord, and the 
penal consequences attached to the abuse of it as stated 
by St. Paul, as well as the strange and irrational doc- 
trine of tran substantiation, so generally received in the 
time of the papal dominion, has been much neglected 
through superstitious and groundless fears, or observed 
with ignorant and profane reliance on its virtues as able 
to atone for sin, and to secure an " abundant entrance 
into the everlasting kingdom" of heaven. This rite 
should neither be abused by being put in the place of 
Christ, or being made a part of his full and perfect ob- 
lation and satisfaction for sin ; nor slighted by neglect, 
as if it conferred no benefit, and were not obligatory, 
because salvation is attainable without it. The true 
christian does not desire to reach heaven, with as im- 
perfect an obedience as is at all compatible with safety ; 
but his aim is to do all the will of God, and to observe 
every ordinance of Christ. To defend the habitual 



160 on public woiisiiip. 

neglect of this institution, on the ground of its not being 
indispensable to salvation, is no other than to charge 
our Lord with having appointed a useless service, with 
having laid a needless injunction on his followers. 
What he has commanded, must be important, and, 
where circumstances allow, indispensable ; what he has 
conferred, must be beneficial ; and a slight, cast on his 
appointments, must incur guilt. 

It seems that as some have erred in their opinions of 
the nature of the Lord's supper, others have erred also 
in the administration of this religious rite. It is re- 
garded by some as so distinct from the other parts of 
religious worship, as to belong exclusively to those who 
give undoubted evidence of their real conversion to 
God; and not as a means, under God, of producing 
renovation of heart. By others it is esteemed as some- 
thing of so awful and mysterious import, that men are 
to be kept from it lest they destroy their souls by eating 
and drinking unworthily. No one ought certainly to 
approach the celebration of this rite, without close and 
impartial self-examination, and preparation, yet it 
should not (as it too often is) be abstained from alto- 
gether, under a mistaken notion of the superior sanctity 
required in those who partake of it. Prayer is a solemn 
service, and should not be engaged in without great se- 
riousness and solemnity of mind, and a "true heart;" 
but many who dare not live without daily prayer to 
God, do yet habitually neglect the holy Sacrament, 
which is only another branch of religious obligation. 

In some communions, the Lord's Supper is restricted 
to such as have attained to a certain degree of religious 
knowledge and experience ; and the rest of the congre- 
gation are admitted to join indiscriminately in the other 
parts of the service of the sanctuary, without drawing 
any line which should separate them into classes, 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



161 



leaving it to God alone to distinguish between those who 
worship him in spirit and in truth, and those who are 
mere formalists in their devotions ; and suffering men 
to engage in the service so as to derive profit, or to bring 
sin on their souls by irreverence or want of sincerity. 
It seems reasonable and scriptural that the openly pro- 
fane, and those who are unacquainted with the very first 
principles of Christianity should be excluded from the 
sacramental table, till they give evidence of being re- 
formed in their conduct, and enlightened in their minds. 
But why should the door be shut against such as are mor- 
al in their deportment, and are ready to profess their be- 
lief that J esus Christ has come in the flesh ? Why should 
not all who have an enlightened desire to participate in 
this ordinance, be permitted to share in it ? Many 
might find it the means of their spiritual renovation ; 
but while the holy communion is under too rigid restric- 
tions, it is in fact put out of the number of the means of 
conversion, and made only the medium of conveying 
encouragement and strength to those, who have already 
" believed through grace." 

Some conference should take place between the minis- 
ter or persons appointed by the church, and candidates 
for communion, previously to their becoming commu- 
nicants ; and it is a part of the ministerial office, to ex- 
plain the nature, and enforce the obligations of this 
Divine Institution, and to warn men against eating and 
drinking unworthily ; but why, as is the case in some 
religious societies, should a written document, to be 
read publicly before the church, be required from all 
candidates, containing, or professing to contain an ac- 
count of the commencement and progress of their con- 
version to God ? Many truly pious and sincere persons, 
whom Christ has accepted, are kept from his table by 
this " ordinance of man." Some are unable to note 

Y 



162 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



the commencement of spiritual light in their soul, or to 
trace the progress of their attainments in Divine Know- 
ledge ; but they can reply in truth and from the heart 
to the question, 66 Dost thou believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ," 'I believe; may God help my unbelief;' 
and their conduct and conversation show that they 
have added to their faith — knowledge, virtue, temper- 
ance, and the other christian graces. Others, again, 
feel a backwardness, arising from true humility, to 
proclaim openly the state of their minds towards God. 
They are ready to give an answer to every man who 
asketh of the hope that is in them ; but they cannot 
overcome their diffidence, and do violence to their feel- 
ings, by delivering in a written document as an attest- 
ation of their faith and sincerity. Christian humility 
shrinks back from such publicity, and is of too retired 
a nature to say, 6 Here am I, receive me.' 

It is to be feared also that this regulation may induce 
some persons to state more than they have really experi- 
enced ; an anxiety to be esteemed something more than 
mere "babes" in Christianity, may lead to their preparing 
a paper, which shall contain, not a faithful statement of 
their religious course, but an account calculated to 
raise them in the opinion of the religious society to 
which they belong. And the injury will not be confined 
to those only who are thus admitted to church-member- 
ship, but many persons who listen to the contents of 
these papers, may be led to form very erroneous notions 
respecting conversion. They may suppose that a process 
similar to what they have heard stated, as the course and 
and order of the religious experience of others, must 
take place in their own minds before they can conclude 
themselves to be christians, or lay an humble claim to 
the promises and offers of the Gospel. Thus much 
unnecessary distress may be caused in their minds, or 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



163 



they may be induced to make hypocritical pretensions, 
or to sink in despondency. 

Besides, what test of sincerity, or of piety, can such 
documents be ? They may easily be counterfeited by 
the hypocrite ; they may lead the christian of low at- 
tainments to state more than he has really experienced, 
and they may effectually exclude from communion 
many useful and devout persons ; but they can neither 
promote nor ensure the admittance of such only as 
are "born of God," who are christians in deed and in 
truth, as well as in outward profession. 

To return from this digression to the subject of the 
spiritual worship of God, we may observe in conclusion, 
that no means of grace will be neglected either by those 
who are making the first enquiries after God in a reli- 
gious course of life, or by those who are standing fast 
in their most holy faith. The former need every in- 
struction and assistance ; and the latter stand in need 
of constant supplies of spiritual strength to keep their 
graces lively. The dispensation of the Gospel brings 
relief exactly suited to the case of the one; and the other 
finds in the same dispensation, all needful supplies of 
grace, plentifully and freely bestowed. By reading the 
Holy Scriptures, by diligent self-examination, by fre- 
quent meditation on Divine Things, by the converse of 
pious persons, and chiefly by attending on the public 
worship of God, the christian finds his faith daily 
strengthened — his hope increased — his prospects widen- 
ed — his joys multiplied — his humility increased — his 
attachment to present things weakened — his love to ho- 
liness growing stronger — his holy resolutions fortified — 
his zeal animated and wisely directed — his confidence 
in God confirmed, and thus, his path is as 6i the shining 
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
day." 



164 



ON PUBLIC WORSHIP. 



Let every reader put the following questions seriously 
to his conscience, at the close of every Lord's day : 
With what motive did I go up to the House of God 
this day ? If the present should be my last Sabbath, and 
I should be favoured with no more opportunities of 
worshipping God in his earthly temples, have I so im- 
proved this day's services, as to leave no sting in my 
conscience — no cause of bitter regret ? It is certain 
that I am now one Sabbath-day's journey nearer to the 
end of my pilgrimage, and to my appearing before the 
Judgment-seat of Christ, do I then find in myself an 
increased preparation and meetness for the heavenly 
glory ? 



ESSAY IV. 



OJy PRAYER. 

What is prayer ? It is the eloquence of misery ; 
it is the language inspired by a sense of wretchedness 
and want ; it is the cry of a being who feels his help- 
lessness and danger, to one whom he knows to be able, 
and believes to be willing to save him ; it is the desire 
of the heart. How does the beggar perishing with hun- 
ger, implore an alms of those that pass by him ? — How 
does the mariner sinking beneath the fierce wave in 
sight of his native shore, cry aloud for help ? — How 
does the condemned criminal supplicate his judge or 
his prince for pardon ? This is prayer. 

Prayer is desire : it is earnestness. Without desire, 
prayer is but a shadow without the substance : a lifeless 
body without the quickening spirit; an inanimate trunk 
destitute of the heart. What would it profit us, were 
we to repeat ever so many forms of petitions in words 
only ? We may in this manner say prayer after prayer, 
till our lips are weary, and our tongue cleaves to our 
mouth, and our breath fails us, and not one request 
will reach heaven, because all are unaccompanied by 
the desire of the heart. If God be the searcher of 
hearts, what greater mockery can there be than to 
address him with unmeaning words ? Will He, who is 
a Spirit, be satisfied with mere bodily service? 

God hears prayer ; but without desire prayer is des- 



166 



ON PRAYER. 



tituteof its first and most distinguishing quality. " God," 
says an old divine, "heareth the heart without the 
mouth ; but never heareth the mouth acceptably without 
the heart." " The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon 
him in truth ,"— " He will fulfil the desire of them that 
fear him." 

If desire be the heart of prayer, earnestness is also 
the eloquent tongue that pleads our cause with God. 
The cold words of heartless petitions which fall unheeded 
from the lips of the formal worshipper, are also disre- 
garded by Him to whom they are pretended to be ad- 
dressed. If we rightly understand the value of spi- 
ritual things, we shall seek them with corresponding 
earnestness. " Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul" 
says the Psalmist ; and when blessings for the soul are 
desired, there will ever be a spiritual wrestling for them. 
What evidence can there be of sincerity of desire, when 
there is no earnestness of supplication ? How earnest 
was Jacob to obtain a blessing from the Almighty \ 
He is represented as wrestling with God, and with ear- 
nest importunity declaring, "I will not let thee go, ex- 
cept thou bless me." We are commanded to continue 
" instant," or persevering " in prayer." We have 
blessings of infinite value to ask of God, and shall we 
seek the in only with a cold obedience to the Divine 
command to continue in prayer ? Shall we not rather 
manifest an earnest and persevering importunity, as 
those who feel the importance of the favours which they 
supplicate, and who know they must perish unless they 
are conceded! "The kingdom of heaven suffereth 
violence, and the violent take it by force." What 
strong language is this ? Whom does it characterize ? 
Not the formal — not the heedless — not the slothful — 
not the cold, heartless worshipper ; — no; "the violent" 
are those whose hearts are set upon obtaining the inva- 



ON PRAYER. 



167 



luable blessings of the Gospel, — who give no sleep to 
their eyes, nor slumber to their eyelids, till they have 
laid " hold upon the hope that is set before them," — 
who regard this world as a passage to another, and 
consider time as given them to prepare for eternity, — and 
who think no end of their being answered, till they 
have obtained a " good hope through grace," that they 
shall hereafter receive an " inheritance incorruptible, 
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away." 

There must be application of mind in prayer. If 
our own minds are unaffected by our prayers, how can 
we expect that they should have power with God ? 
David affords us an instance of this application of mind — 
this earnestness, when he declares that his soul thirsted 
for God. He felt an intenseness of desire which led 
him to seek God early — to prevent the morning light — 
to follow hard after God — to wait with longing desire 
till the Lord should accomplish all his petitions. 

Some persons excuse themselves from the duty of 
prayer by averring that they know not how to discharge 
it, that they cannot find words wherewith to offer peti- 
tions to God. There are doubtless various degrees of 
attainment in the gift of prayer ; but this total inability 
which is pleaded, is a proof that the understanding is 
yet destitute of spiritual light, that the affections are 
yet unsanctified, that the heart is yet unrenewed. Where 
the evil of sin is felt, men know how to cry for the 
pardon of it. Where the danger which threatens us as 
the guilty posterity of fallen Adam, is seen and appre- 
ciated, words will readily be found to call on God for 
deliverance. If we know " the plague of our own 
hearts," we shall be earnest, if not eloquent, in beseech- 
ing God to " create in us a clean heart, and to renew 
a right spirit within us." If we possess a spiritual 
knowledge of the blessings of redemption, we shall be 



168 



ON PRAYER* 



importunate in pleading with God for an interest in 
them. Words are vain if unaccompanied by desire; 
but where a desire is felt, words will naturally follow. 
If the mind be instructed in the knowledge of Divine 
things, and the heart conceive desires for them, "the 
tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak 
plainly." 

However^ a readiness of utterance and a flow of words 
must not be mistaken for prayer. There is a distinction 
between the gift and the grace or spirit of prayer ; and the 
former may be possessed, if not without, at least with a 
very small degree of the latter. He that has only the 
gift of prayer, may define his wants with much exact- 
ness, and offer petitions with a wonderful facility and 
great variety and copiousness of expression ; but at the 
same time, all this may be only like the regular move* 
ments of an automaton, that have the resemblance of 
life, but not the reality; they are excited by a mechan- 
ical cause, and cease when that impulse ceases ; they 
stop when the spring has lost its elasticity, or the 
weight has gone down. There may be gifts which dazzle 
both the possessor and the beholders, where there is 
none or very little of the grace which humbles,-^of the 
spirit which enlightens the heart. 

Prayer begins in the conviction that we are sinners — '< 
sinners who must perish everlastingly without the mer- 
cy of God ; it is founded on a persuasion that God will 
hear prayer, and will send answers of peace ; and prayer 
proceeds and grows, and strengthens, on the experience of 
God's grace and mercy* No one truly prays till God has 
opened the eyes of his mind to discern his spiritual dan- 
ger. c< Behold he prayeth," is amongst the first evi- 
dences given of the real conversion of Saul the perse- 
cutor, into Paul the apostle. Prayer is the natural ex- 
pression of the heart of every one that is born of the 



ON PRAYER. 



169 



spirit. Prayer is as the breath of the christian, without 
Which he cannot live ; it is to him as the animating soul 
which God breathed into the nostrils of the first man, and 
which gave life, and vigour, and health, to the whole 
frame. A prayerless christian is a contradiction in terms ; 
for believers are the generation of them that seek God* 
^Therefore prayer is the best test of character, the surest 
mark of spiritual life. It seeks spiritual things, and 
cannot thrive in the natural, unrenewed heart. As we 
feel disposed to, or averse from this duty, so will be the 
growth or the decline of grace in our hearts. "A 
praying christian," says one of the early fathers of the 
Church, "is in a frame for enduring any thing." He 
that continues " instant in prayer," is at the post as- 
signed to him as a christian warrior ; he is on his watch- 
tower, and will not be easily surprised by his insidious 
enemy — his besetting sin, or by his more open foes'— the 
world and the devil. 

Christians are commanded to put on the spiritual ar- 
mour of God ; but shield, and breast-plate, and helmet, 
are vain coverings, and the sword is a useless weapon, 
Unless we are found " praying always with all prayer." 
Prayer buckles on the harness, and instructs us to wield 
the sword; but "restraining prayer, we cease to fight;" 
our shield is laid down, our breast-plate and helmet are 
taken off, and the sword falls from our feeble grasp. 

Prayer is an exercise of the mind so spiritual, that 
in nothing are we more likely to become remiss and 
formal* than in this service. And, therefore, in the word 
of God are many exhortations to urge us to this duty, and 
many promises to encourage our perseverance in it. 
It is enforced by repeated commands; "Ask, and it 
shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, 
and it shall be opened unto you."—" Men ought always 
to pray, and not to faint."—" Pray without ceasing." 

z 



170 



ON PRAYER. 



" In every thing by prayer and supplication let your 
requests be made known to God." We have also " ex- 
ceedingly great and precious promises," to strengthen 
our faith, and animate our drooping expectations. 
"Thou that hearest prayer," is addressed to God in his 
Word, as one of the names by which he is known. " The 
eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears 
are open unto their cry." " Whatsoever ye shall ask 
of the Father in my name, he will give it you." — " The 
Lord is rich unto all that call upon him." — " Before 
they call, I will answer ; and while they are yet speakings 
I will hear." — " He will be very gracious unto thee at 
the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will 
answer thee." 

But then our prayers must be offered in faith, and 
with understanding. The first act of the mind in prayer, 
must be faith in the being of God ; and then faith in 
his ability and readiness to help us ; " for he that cometh 
to God, must believe that he is, and that he is a re- 
warder of them that diligently seek him." Prayer 
without faith is a vain oblation, ituprofitable to our- 
selves, and unacceptable to God. When we approach 
the throne of grace with a doubting mind, we are but 
little better than they who worship an " unknown God" — 
without confidence in his power, or hope in his mercy ; 
" Let not that man think that he shall receive any thing 
of the Lord." 

The medium of access to the Father should never be 
forgotten by us, when we attempt to pray. Had not 
Christ died, there would have been no way in which 
we could ever have approached God ; we should have 
been for ever barred his presence. By the mediation 
of Christ we hold spiritual communion with our Maker: 
through him the prayer of faith becomes u that con- 
verse, which God has allowed us to maintain with him- 



ON PRAYER. 



171 



self above, while we are here below. It is that lan^ua^e 
wherein a creature holds correspondence with his Creator, 
and wherein the soul, of a saint gets near to God, is en- 
tertained with great delight, and as it were dwells with 
his heavenly Father for a short season before he comes 
to heaven." Faith is indispensable to prayer : it is the 
"tongue that begs pardon; it is the hand that receives 
it ; it is the eye that sees it; but it is no price to buy it. 
Faith uses the Gospel plea for pardon, but it is not the 
plea itself, that is only Christ's blood." 

As this intercourse between God and the soul cannot 
be maintained without faith, so also it cannot be enjoyed 
without understanding. In vain will our prayers ex- 
press fully the things which we need, if we do not also 
in some measure understand the value of the blessings 
which we supplicate. Can our prayers bring down one 
blessing from heaven, if we know not what we ask for? 
Unless we "pray with the spirit, and pray with the 
understanding also," we shall but " speak into the air." 
The words of our prayer may not indeed be " without 
signification," but the understanding will be "unfruitful/' 
the heart will not be " edified." 

True prayer is the expression of the heart, and is 
therefore a voluntary service. The sincere christian 
does not pray merely because he is commanded to pray, 
but also because he is inclined to pray. He is not urged 
so much by the voice of natural conscience, as by love 
to God and love to the duty. He delights to hold com- 
munion with the Father of his spirit. He enjoys a 
foretaste of heaven in the exercise of this duty. But, 
on the other hand, prayer is wrung and extorted from 
the unrenewed heart. Many who have never bowed the 
knee in sincere and humble adoration, and have never 
raised one cry of earnest prayer to heaven, while they 
were in health, and saw no trouble, are the loudest in 



172 



ON PRAYER. 



calling on God in their misery. They go to Him when 
they have no other refuge. Their desire is to be deli- 
vered from their pains, not from their sins. They desire 
that God should take away their sufferings, not their 
evil hearts, — that he should renew their bodily strength, 
not their souls, — that he should restore them to health 
and prosperity, not to his favour and image, the light 
of his countenance, and the joys of his salvation. Thus 
they cover the deceitfulness of their hearts with a co- 
vering, but not of the Spirit of God ; a covering too 
thin not to be pierced by the all- seeing eye of the Lord ; 
a covering too scanty to shield them from the anger of 
God. God saith of such characters, " They have not 
cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon 
their beds." Their return to God is induced by terror, 
and secured only by fear. They yield not themselves 
unreservedly to God, but only so much as they are 
constrained to do by mere suffering. They are like the 
Israelites of old time ; when God visited them for their 
sins, and slew them, "then they sought him ; and they 
returned and enquired early after God ; and they re- 
membered that God was their rock, and the High God 
their Redeemer : nevertheless they did flatter him with 
their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues; 
for their heart was not right with him, neither were 
they steadfast in his covenant." 

Fear does not, however, always bend the stubborn 
heart; sometimes it hardens it. It often induces a hy- 
pocritical return to God, but it sometimes strengthens 
the daring spirit of rebellion. We find in the Reve- 
lation, that when the judgments of God were heavy on 
the seat of the beast," men " blasphemed the God of 
heaven because of their pains and their sores ; and re- 
pented not of their deeds." 

They that rightly understand the nature of prayer, 



ON PRAYER. 



173 



and regard it as a spiritual service, know that they 
cannot perform this duty acceptably to God, nor with 
advantage to themselves, unless they receive the aid of 
the Holy Spirit. " We know not what we should pray 
for as we ought," but the " Spirit helpeth our infirmities." 
We read of a " spirit of grace and of supplication," 
which God promises to " pour out" on his people ; and 
it is the same Divine teacher, who confirms our faith and 
enables us to cry " Abba, Father." " Prayer," says 
one, " is nothing but the breathing that out before the 
Lord, which was first breathed into us by the Spirit of 
the Lord." W r e may assume the posture of worship at 
the set times of prayer, (and so we ought to do, for 
that which has not its regular and appointed seasons, 
will seldom be performed at all,) but unless the Divine 
Spirit excite holy desires in our hearts, the discharge of 
this duty will be unprofitable ; for in this, as in every 
other religious service, " it is the Spirit that quickeneth, 
the flesh profiteth nothing." 

Having thus far discussed the nature of prayer, we 
shall offer some remarks on the exercise of this duty, in 
the public, social, and private acts of worship. With 
respect to public prayer, what sight is more pleasing, 
more solemn, or more imposing, than to behold a mul- 
titude of immortal beings, bowing before the same 
throne of mercy, confessing their sins to the same Fa- 
ther, and seeking an interest in the same salvation! 
The advantages attending the observance of public 
prayer are many. It is calculated to excite every proper 
and hallowed feeling in the bosom. God is pleased to 
hearken to the united prayers of the church, and to send 
gracious answers of peace. " The Lord loveth the gates 
of Zion," and hath commanded an especial blessing on 
the assemblies of his saints. " The Lord will create 
upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon 



174 



ON PRAYER. 



her assemblies a cloud, a smoke by clay, and the shining 
of a flaming fire by night, for upon all the glory shall 
be a defence.' , "Pray," then, "with the most; for 
where most pray is heaven." 

But let it be remembered, that in public prayer, it is 
not every one who is present, and joins with his voice, 
that takes a part in the spiritual worship. All may join 
in the " bodily exercise," but the church, the assembly 
of believers alone pray ; they alone offer the u prayers 
of saints," which ascend to God as incense from "golden 
vials full of odours." 

It is not enough to appear in our accustomed places 
at the time of public prayer, and to join formally in 
the words of the petitions that are offered, or the praises 
that are presented ; our hearts and our spirits must be 
engaged in the service. It is to be feared that many 
add their amen to prayers, of the meaning of which they 
know nothing, and to the very words of which they 
have often paid no attention. The sound of their voice is 
heard in the assembly, united with the voice of the spiritual 
and sincere worshipper, but it reaches not heaven, be? 
cause it is mere lip-service — because the words are words 
of vanity. It is to be feared that many say, " Our Fa- 
ther," who are ignorant of the first rudiments of Christi- 
anity ; who, instead of being " ready always to. give 
an answer to every man that asketh them a reason of 
the hope that is in them," have really no hope at all ; 
and, instead of being of the true " circumcision who wor- 
ship God in the spirit," " have need that one teach 
them the first principles of the oracles of God." They 
use the language of those who have received the " spirit 
of adoption," but they remain "strangers from the cov- 
enants of promise." The petitions offered up in public 
prayers, may express with eloquent fervour, in language 
well-suited, to the solemnity, the earnestness, the since- 



ON PRAYER. 



175 



rity of the minds of spiritual worshippers, all the ne- 
cessities of the body and the soul, which are common to 
the children of men, but it is to be feared that they are 
" vain repetitions " in the mouths of many persons, who 
are present in body, but absent in spirit, — who add to 
the numerical amount of the number of our religious 
assemblies, but have no communion in the service. To 
such persons the Reformation has brought no benefit ; 
they partake indeed of the outward privileges enjoyed in 
those countries, where the yoke of papal tyranny has 
been broken, but as to any spiritual profit, they are 
nearly on an equality with our forefathers, who listened 
to prayers offered in an unknown tongue. 

It may be profitable for such persons, to give consid- 
erate answers to the questions which follow. Do you 
never utter words in public prayer, or listen, without 
any effort of the understanding, or any application of 
mind, to words, of the import of which you have no 
just conception ? Have you ever considered the solem- 
nity of the addresses to the Deity, in which you profess 
to join every Lord's day, aud have your minds been 
duly impressed when repeating them ? Have you ever 
reflected on the deep self-abasement and godly sorrow 
which are expressed in the confessions, and have you 
felt a corresponding humility, and holy shame, and true 
repentance ; for mere " confession is not repentance? " 
You are in the habit of confessing yourselves " misera- 
ble offenders ; " do you feel the extent of your misery ? 
Are you convinced that there is indeed no moral sound- 
ness — no spiritual " health 99 in your souls by nature, 
and do you therefore desire that God would heal you, 
and renew a right spirit w ithin you, and restore his lost 
image in your souls ; for the mere u knowledge of sin is 
not contrition ? " When you hear of the mercy and pity 
of God, do you hope in that mercy, and claim that pity* 



176 



on Grayer* 



as those c ' that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his 
holy Gospel ? " When you say, " O God ! make clean 
our hearts within us," are you constrained to offer this 
petition, because you know the " plague of your own 
hearts ? " Do you really believe that you have evil 
hearts — hearts desperately wicked — hearts that only the 
power of God can change and sanctify ; and do you de- 
sire that this spiritual renovation, this new creation 
should take place in them ? When you solemnly invoke 
the " Father of Heaven," and the " Redeemer of the 
World," and the " Holy Ghost/ 5 to have mercy upon 
you, are all the powers of your soul engaged in the 
awful service ? When you reiterate the cry " Lord have 
mercy upon us," — "Christ, have mercy Upon us," do 
the growing desires after mercy, strengthen in your 
hearts* and does the flame of devotion wax brighter and 
brighter, as your voice becomes louder and louder, and 
your petitions more frequent ? When you pray for deli* 
verance, and take those awful pleas into your mouth, be- 
seeching God by the " agony and bloody sweat — by the 
cross and passion — by the precious death and burial— 
by the glorious resurrection and ascension" of the Lord 
of glory, and " by the coming of the Holy Ghost, "— 
do your souls long after the blessings so supplicated ? Are 
your desires so intense, and is the conviction of your 
necessities so deep, that your soul labours to find words 
sufficiently expressive of its feelings ? Or do you re- 
peat these words, because you have been accustomed to 
do so from your youth up ; and so the frequency of the 
custom, instead of increasing the warmth of your devo- 
tion, has hardened you against all the deep and serious 
impressions which they are calculated to make on the 
spirit ? If such be the case, think, O think of the dread 
mockery of taking these words upon your lips , while 
your hearts are unaffected by them ! 



ON PRAYER. 



177 



Be not deluded by supposing that your regular, unva- 
rying attendance on the public prayers, will secure to you 
the blessings implored, while you join not in them with 
a true and lively faith. You may come and go during 
threescore years andten,and never miss one public service, 
and never omit one word of every prayer, and at last fall 
short of that heaven, which you vainly hoped to secure 
by unmeaning, hypocritical services. What profit is 
your ceaseless repetition of forms of prayer to God? 
" Should I accept this at your hands, saith the Lord?" 
One ejaculation from the broken and contrite heart- 
one inarticulate petition from the stammering tongue of 
the unlettered, but pious and humble worshipper, is 
more acceptable to God, than your unnumbered, but 
heartless services : — Nay, while he fulfilleth the desire 
of the humble, and heareth their cry, and saveth them, 
He rejects your vain, and formal duties ; they are an 
abomination in his sight. " He hath filled the hungry 
with good things; but the rich he hath sent empty 
away." 

Some persons seem to have fallen into the mistaken 
notion that religion, so far as relates to the duties of 
prayer and praise which it enjoins, is confined to the 
services of the sanctuary; they never think of daily 
renewing in their houses, the worship in which they are 
engaged on every Lord's day. But there are the same 
arguments for the practice of social or family worship, 
that establish the practice of public worship ; the same 
authority sanctions and commands both. Is it not rea* 
sonable that a creature so dependant as man, should 
acknowledge that dependance ?— that a being so guilty 
should implore pardon ? — that one so ignorant should 
seek direction ? — that he who is so destitute should sup- 
plicate the blessings and favours of which he stands in 
need ? What is more rational as well as scriptural 3 



17S 



ON PRAYER. 



than that every morning should be opened and conse- 
crated with prayer to God, and every evening closed 
with devout acknowledgment of the mercies of the day, 
and with supplication for continued protection during 
the night? i6 Evening and morning, and at noon, will 
I pray, and cry aloud," said David ; and evening and 
morning ought all the members of every family (where 
it is practicable,) to assemble and bow the knee to the 
Father of mercies. The members of one family have 
common wants, and are exposed to common dangers ; 
and if one receive a blessing, they all rejoice together ; 
should they not then unitedly perform their daily devo- 
tional exercises ? Such a practice is according to the 
will of God ; and it brings many blessings in its train. 
It has a tendency to soften the asperities of temper, 
and the bickerings which are too often discovered in 
families. Those who daily bow the knee to the common 
Father of all, are likely to live together as brethren 
in unity and love. Those who expect to H form a fa- 
mily anew, unbroken in the skies," will be careful to 
worship God in union on earth. The recalling of the 
presence of God to the mind every morning and evening, 
is likely to produce a serious and profitable impression 
during the day, of his Omniscience and Omnipresence, 
and of our accountability ; and the recollection that 
the God of peace must be worshipped in the evening, 
would tend to banish from the heart all " bitter envy- 
ing and strife," during the day. And thus habitual 
devotion would qualify for the faithful discharge of ev- 
ery duty ; and the conscientious performance of all mor- 
al and civil obligations, would prepare the mind for the 
exercises of devotion. 

. Under the term social prayer, may be comprehended 
the common practice of professing to ask the Divine 
blessing on our daily food. Some persons prefer the 



ON PRAYER. 



179 



custom of silent prayer on these occasions, as being 
more favourable to a devotional feeling, and more calcu- 
lated to excite a reverential disposition of mind, than a 
few words pronounced only by the head of the fa- 
mily. But, in some families, the practice is entirely 
laid aside ; they eat bread and call not upon God. We 
are pensioners upon the daily bounty of heaven ; we 
are taught to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread;" 
and when our table is spread with the bounties of Pro- 
vidence, they should remind us of the Giver, and lead 
us to acknowledge with thankfulness and humility, the 
mercies which are so free on his part, and so unmerited 
on ours. Perhaps the mere form is better than the total 
neglect of this custom ; but at some tables, the greatest 
levity so closely presses both on the commencement and 
on the close of the few words which are hastily uttered, 
that there is scarcely an interval left for the exercise of 
the smallest deoree of attention. It is much to be wished 
that the good old practice of craving God's blessing on 
our food, were renewed with antient solemnity. There is 
no necessity for any great length in the form made use of; 
but it is indispensable to the right and acceptable man- 
ner of discharging it, that it be performed with serious- 
ness and attention. 

There must be religion in the house, as well as in the 
church. Vain will be a numerous and regular attend- 
ance on the public services of the sabbath, while there 
are no praying families at home. The very heathen 
have always had their Penates, or household Gods, to 
which they pay daily worship ; and shall they exceed 
us ! Shall they be more diligent in the service of idols, 
than we are in the worship of the true God ! Mothers 
are seen in pagan countries, teaching infants to clasp 
their little hands before senseless idols, and thus causing 
thera to acknowledge them as deities, befoie they can 



180 



ON PRAYER. 



speak. Shall not these deluded but zealous idolaters 
rise up in judgment, and condemn many christian pa- 
rents, who have never once taught their children to call 
upon God — who have never led them to the domestic 
altar — never taught them to seek the favour of the God 
of heaven ! Alas ! on how many dwellings might be 
inscribed, 6 God is not worshipped in this house/ — C A 
house in which prayer is not offered to God ! ' 

Are any excusing themselves on the ground that they 
have no time ? What is time given us for, but to serve God 
- — but to seek spiritual and everlasting blessings ! "They 
that cannot find time to pray," says a judicious and 
pious modern writer, u must find time to be sick — they 
must one day find time to die." Do you plead the claims 
of business ? What business is so important as the sal- 
vation of the soul ? Shall not the petty and transient 
concerns of time, yield to the momentous, the unspeak- 
ably important interests of eternity ! Is that time lost 
— is it mis-spent, which is consecrated to God, the au- 
thor of our being — the preserver of our lives — the be- 
stower of all our mercies ! Is that business neglected, 
which is suspended for a few minutes every day, to give 
place to the more serious and weighty engagements to 
be transacted between God and our Maker. 

Let heads of families remember the awful account, 
which they must one day give of the weighty charge 
intrusted to them. Every head of a family should be 
the priest of that family, to lead the social devotions of 
its united members. Heavy is the judgment imprecated 
on those who neglect this duty : " Pour out thy fury," 
says the Prophet, * c Pour out thy fury upon the heathen 
that know thee not ; and upon the families that call not 
upon thy name." 

Prayer is the distinguishing character of every one 
that is regenerate. It is the appointed medium of com- 



ON PRAYER. 



181 



munication between heaven and earth ; and every chris- 
tian has so many secret sins to deplore, so many bles- 
sings peculiar to his own case to supplicate, that he will 
gladly avail himself of stated seasons for retiring to his 
chamber, to pour out his heart before Him who seeth in 
secret. Among primitive believers when the question 
was asked, 4 Hast thou observed the Lord's day ? ' The 
answer was, 4 1 am a christian; I cannot neglect it.' 
A similar reply would be given by every true christian, 
were the question put, c Hast thou prayed to-day?* 
He knows too well the value of an access to the throne 
of grace, to suffer a day to pass without coming thereto 
that he " may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in 
time of need." His language is, •" as for me it is good 
for me to draw near to God." The privilege of prayer 
is duly appreciated by those, who " have tasted that 
the Lord is gracious." — "At the throne of grace, they 
that have nothing, may get all things ; they that deserve 
wrath, may obtain mercy ; they that are condemned at 
the court of justice, may be acquitted and freed from 
all sentences, and may be adjudged to eternal life by 
the grace of God in Christ Jesus." 

We who are at an infinite distance from God as crea- 
tures, and at enmity with God as sinners, may yet ap- 
proach Him by the " new and living way, which he 
hath consecrated for us." It is a new way, for it has 
been more clearly revealed in these latter days, as the 
only medium of access to God, without the intervention 
of sacrifices or other ceremonial rites. It is a living way, 
because it is the way to life, and is ever open. " Straight 
paths" are made ready for our feet, but we unreasonably 
put obstacles and hinderances in the way of prayer, and 
often make our petitions as though we suspected the 
willingness of God to bestow what he has promised. 
With a dull and insensible state of mind, we ask for 



182 



ON PRAYER. 



spiritual blessings, more from the conviction that it is 
right and proper we should supplicate these things, than 
with the earnestness and fervour of those who desire 
them, and are impressed with their infinite value and 
importance. With difficulty we find words to consume 
the time set apart for private prayer; and our petitions 
are rather the invention of the head, than the earnest cry 
of the heart. Words, indeed, are not necessary to 
prayer ; but i( out of the abundance of the heart, the 
mouth speaketh and if desires are excited in the heart 
— if our heart be "enditing a good matter," our tongue 
will be « as the pen of a ready writer." 

But many restrain prayer before God ; they never 
bow the knee ; they know of nothing for which to pray ; 
if one should know their minds, they have not one spi- 
ritual desire excited in them ; they feel no need — no 
want, for which to request a supply ; they feel no bur- 
den of sin, from which to seek deliverance; spiritual 
things have no attraction in their eyes that they should 
seek them, and seek them first, with earnestness and dili- 
gence. Upon them the command of Christ with respect 
to the observance of private prayer, is without effect ; 
they never enter into their closet and shut their door, 
and pray to Him, that seeth in secret ; they never enter 
into their chambers and shut their door about them, 
that they may commune with their own hearts and 
make diligent search. 

Are mortal men — are sinners then become so * 6 rich 
and increased with goods," that they have "need of 
nothing?" Christ himself, the Lord of heaven and 
earth, prayed when he appeared in our nature. He 
spent whole nights in prayer and devout meditation. 
Arid "the disciple is not above his Master ; nor the ser- 
vant above his Lord." As he was, so should we be in 
the world. By refraining from prayer, we profess to 



ON PRAYER. 



183 



be independent of God ; to want no blessing from Him, 
to be able to pass through this mortal life without his 
help or favour. O vain man, thy services are unprofi- 
table to thy Maker ; but without His grace, thou must 
perish. And if thou art living in the habitual neglect 
of prayer, thou art without God, and therefore without 
hope. In the midst of health and prosperity, thou dost 
forget to call upon God, and in trouble thou wilt be 
afraid to pray to Him whom thou hast contemned. God 
is near thee at all times, but thou knowest it not ; pain 
and sorrow and distress will cause thee to feel his pre- 
sence, by the weight of his arm which will smite thee 
in anger. 

In prayer, as in every other religious service, consistency 
of conduct and consolation of mind go ever hand in hand. 
u To do justly ; to love mercy ; and to walk humbly with 
our God," are indispensable to our being u strengthened 
in the Lord, and walking up and down in his name." 
We sometimes go to the throne of grace with fear, and 
doubt of our acceptance with God ; this may proceed 
in part from the weakness of our faith, but it is too often 
caused by the un worthiness of our conversation. " If 
our hearts condemn us," we lose our confidence to- 
wards God" — not only the hope of acceptance with 
respect to our prayers, but also the confidence of trust 
in His providential care, and of faith in his grace. Our 
feet then move heavily in the ways of God ; we are des- 
titute of true peace in things relating to this life, and 
have a very low state of hope in reference to that which is 
to come. If we " exercise ourselves daily to have a con- 
science void of offence towards God and towards men," 
we shall very rarely lose that degree of faith which will 
enable us to look up to God as our helper, and to call 
upon Him as our Father. The instability of the ? dou- 
ble-minded man," blasts his fruitfulness and brings a 
constant cloud over his comforts. 



184 



ON PRAYE&. 



The vigour of our spiritual life, will ever be accord-* 
ing to the manner which the duty of secret prayer is 
performed. They who hold no communion with God 
iri retirement, know nothing of their own hearts ; 
they are ignorant of their true character as sinners, 
and they know not Christ the Saviour of sinners. More 
may be learned on our knees in one half hour of retire- 
ment from the world, than can be acquired in much 
study and controversy. Prayer is a refuge to which we 
may flee in every time of trouble ; it yields comfort to 
the distressed mind, and peace to the troubled consci- 
ence; it revives hope in the desponding heart, animates 
the drooping spirits, "gives power to the faint, and to 
them that have no might it increaseth strength." Great 
is the power of prayer ; it has turned (he firmament into 
brass ; again it has opened the fountains of heaven, 
and brought down the rain ; it has " subdued kingdoms ; 
wrought righteousness ; obtained promises ; stopped 
the mouths of lions ; quenched the violence of fire ; ,r 
and raised the dead to life again. 

It is great condescension in the Most High to allow us to 
speak to him in prayer, to permit us to bless Him who is 
the source of all blessing — to ascribe honour to Him who 
is the fountain of all honour. But can we give unto God 
the honour that is due unto his name, unless we ap- 
proach Him at all times with the profoundest reverence ? 
If man be admitted to an audience with God, shall this 
encourage him to use irreverent familiarity in addressing 
his Maker ? Are we never guilty of making use iit 
prayer of grossly familiar, or careless and irreverent 
language ? Studied words and phrases and nicely ar- 
ranged forms of expression, are indeed unnecessary in 
prayer ; but due solemnity and seriousness of mind will 
preclude all unguarded language, and will cause us to 
take heed that we offend not with our tongue, and so 



ON PRAYER. 



185 



our very prayers become sin. Logical method and 
grammatical accuracy are not necessary to make our 
prayers acceptable to God, but we should guard against 
being rash with our mouth," or, " hasty to utter any 
thing before God," lest, instead of offering a service 
well-pleasing to Him, we incur his anger, and instead 
of a sacrifice, offer to God an abomination. 

We are very prone to fall into the error of taking the 
act of prayer for the end; as if the mere observance of 
the duty were sufficient; whereas a watching unto 
prayer, a watching in prayer, and a watching after 
prayer, belong to the spirit of this duty. 

If we are so engrossed by the cares and pleasures of 
the world, as to suffer them to encroach on the hours that 
should be sacred to the closet, we do not watch unto 
prayer. If we brood over the injuries we have re- 
ceived, and indulge bitterness and malice in our hearts, 
we do not watch unto prayer. The Divine command 
in this matter is, u Watch and pray," and " first be re- 
conciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy 
gift." When we relax in the christian course, or offer a 
feeble resistance to the world, the flesh, and the devil, — 
when we grow lukewarm in our affections, or decline in 
circumspection, or indulge in any degree in an increased 
conformity to the world, or are led away by the "lust 
of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," 
we have ceased to watch unto prayer. 

Do we never attend to the duty of prayer, with a se- 
cret intention of having something like a stock of religion 
in hand, that may forestall our pardon, and give us 
license to indulge in unchristian levity? This is not 
watching in prayer. Are we never chargeable with the 
self-righteous notion, of praying in order to atone for 
our sins? We commit sin, feel a degree of sorrow, 
make confession, pray, and then forget the offence. 

2b 



188 



ON PRAYER. 



But does God so forget ? Has he no book of remem- 
brance ? And although he will keep his mercy for 
evermore, and his " covenant shall stand fast with him," 
yet will he not visit our <c trangsressions with the rod, and 
our iniquities with stripes?" We are impure in heart, 
and unholy in conversation ; but are we not often satis- 
fied with merely acknowledging this — allowing it — bare- 
ly stating it, without fervent prayer that we may be re- 
newed in mind, and may have that truth which God 
Tequireth, wrought in our inward parts ? These things 
are not marks of watching in prayer. 

We should beware of continuing to pray for those 
things, which we have had clear evidence that it is not 
the will of God to grant, and respecting which he has 
plainly said to us by the voice of his Providence, " Speak 
no more unto me of this matter." If we watch in 
prayer, we shall so feel our ignorance and blindness, 
as to desire the constant teaching of the Holy Spirit to 
instruct us as well what to pray for, as how to pray. 
We often deprecate real blessings, and importunately 
ask for those things which would be very injurious. 
We complain where we ought to praise. How often 
has God shown us, in the end which he has made, that 
what we have named troubles, were mercies in disguise ; 
that what we have called disappointments, were bles- 
sings ; and when our hearts have failed us, and we have 
been ready to renounce all hope, then God has ap- 
peared as our Almighty Deliverer, as God all-sufficient ; 
and yet every new trial fills us with dismay, we bow 
under every fresh burden, and our faith waxes feeble 
at every renewed trouble. Mercies bestowed, call for 
present gratitude and future trust; but our unbelief 
shuts out thankfulness, and prevents confidence; and 
thus we go mourning and repining to the throne of 
grace, when we ought to raise the voice of thanksgiving, 



ON PRAYER. 



187 



and the song of praise. We do not watch in prayer, 
when we approach God with a doubting mind — with a 
"peradventure the Lord may hear us." If we had 
prayed in faith every time that we profess to have of- 
fered our supplications to God, what would have been 
our advancement in the Divine life ! 

But we must watch also after prayer. If we are 
puffed up on account of our gifts, if we look with se- 
cret satisfaction on our spiritual attainments, and are 
ready to make a secret comparison of ourselves with 
others, whom we esteem our inferiors in knowledge and 
" spiritual gifts, "- — we do not watch after prayer. 
When we have presented a petition to a fellow-creature, 
we do not straightway forget it ; we watch and wait 
till we have received our request ; so should we wait 
till God shall hear and answer our prayer. When 
we ask for things agreeable to his will, we should wait as 
" they that watch for the morning," in full assurance 
that though it seem to tarry, yet it will come in due 
season. If we do not watch after prayer, and observe 
carefully how far, and in what manner our petitions 
are answered, we lose many occasions of praising God. 
" Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even 
they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." 

We do not watch after prayer, unless we expect those 
blessings which we have supplicated. Former experi- 
ence should lead us to exercise this confident waiting. 
But, alas ! we are slow of heart to receive those very 
mercies for which we are importunate with God. We 
pray, " Lord, increase our faith and yet give way 
to doubting and despondency, We ask to be filled 
with joy in believing, and at the same time refuse the 
consolation of the Gospel. We call on God to bestow 
upon us a " good hope through grace," and to wean 
our affections from earthly things, and make us not 



188 



ON PRAYER. 



only willing, but desirous to depart and be with Christ ; 
and yet we still cling to life with closer grasp, and re- 
gard its possessions, and its enjoyments, and its pursuits, 
with fonder attachment. Though we have many times 
taken our fears, our distresses, our anxious cares, and 
our unbelief to the throne of grace, and have expe- 
rienced a joyful deliverance, yet how little is our faith 
strengthened — how little is our believing expectation 
excited ! Have we ever found that time to be lost, 
which we have spent in prayer ? Never did a christian 
on earth esteem those hours to be wasted unprofitably, 
which were passed in holding communion with his God : 
never did a sinner arrived at the throne of glory in 
heaven, regret the hours spent at the throne of grace 
on earth. Let this be our encouragement to wait on 
God, and to say with the prophet, M I will look unto 
the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; 
my God will hear me.' , 



ESSAY V 



O.V COVETOUSJYESS. 



The hislorj of Avarice, in its most odious 
form, is happily a very brief one. Self-love, in most 
cases, is too predominant in the bosom of man, to submit 
to all the self-inflicted tortures of a spirit devoted to the 
debasing vice of avariciousness. But while examples 
of persons, so entirely fallen under the dominion of 
avarice, as to obey all its revolting mandates, almost to 
the extinction of the first law of nature, and so absorbed 
by the sordid desire of adding to their useless heap, 
as to punish their own flesh ; while examples of this 
kind are of rare occurrence, the spirit of the vice has 
gained more ground than perhaps is generally suspected. 

Where this vice, "the basest appetite of basest souls," 
sways its iron sceptre, it dries up all the springs of hu- 
manity ; it deprives man of the dignity of his nature ; 
it shuts up the heart. Unlike many other vices, it is 
not impaired by time, nor abandoned in old age ; but 
it acquires strength as it advances, it grows with the 
growth of its victim, and years only serve to add force to 
its malignancy and virulence. It is a flagrant sin against 
both God and man, for one eminent duty of man, aris- 
ing from the evident design of God in his creation, is 
to assist his fellow-men ; but the miser lives as an insu- 
lated being, as an individual, who was never placed in 
the same relation to God and man as others are. He 



190 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



draws a circle around himself, which includes his own 
wants and selfish gratifications, and which excludes 
every benevolent connection with others. He dissolves 
every tie of relation ; he cancels every bond of obligati- 
on, and, as it were, cuts himself off from the species. 
Determined to remove every obstacle in the way of ac- 
cumulating wealth, the miser, as he is emphatically cal- 
led, possesses a mind debased enough for the commis- 
sion of any crime, cruel enough for any deed, sordid 
enough for any trick of chicanery, or any dishonest 
action, insensible to every reproach and invective. He 
is irreclaimable. Abundant instances might be adduced 
of persons having been reformed and delivered from the 
dominion of almost every vice ; the most abandoned 
characters, the confirmed drunkard — the habitual blas- 
phemer — the impure — the thief — the hateful liar, have 
all renounced their evil courses, and have become val- 
uable members of society; but, it is not perhaps too 
much to affirm, that the annals of the universe do not 
afford a solitary instance of the reformation of a man 
wholly given up to avarice. This vice cleaves to the 
spirit, as tenaciously as the spirit does to the body, and 
death only can sever the union. 

" Of other tyrants short the strife, 
But Avarice is king for life : 
The despot twists with hard control, 
Eternal fetters round the soul." 

Let the miser rake together his heap of pelf-— deny 
himself all gratifications of sense — torment his own 
flesh — rack his bowels — endure hunger and thirst ; death 
will soon make him poor indeed. He will not clothe 
his shivering body with warm raiment, nor stretch his with- 
ered limbs on a soft couch : the sepulchre will soon be his 
cold bed. " Though he heap up silver as the dust, the 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 191 

innocent shall (3 i vide it." He " shall lie down, but be 
shall not be gathered ; he openeth his eyes, and is not; 
for God shall cast upon him, and not spare." 

There is a disposition in many minds to regard the. 
vice of covetousness, as consisting only in the griping 
and grasping acts of the most sordid avarice. Unless it 
exists to an extravagant degree, they cannot perceive its 
influence at all. Hence they represent a covetous man as 
one who hugs his coffers to his heart, and whose chief 
delight is continually to count over his hoard of pelf ; 
and because they do none of these things, it never en- 
ters into their thoughts to enquire, whether they are 
themselves free from the spirit of the evil. 

It would be almost an endless task, to develope all the 
secret holds of covetousness in the minds of men. It 
assumes so many forms, and appears under such various 
garbs and cloaks, that it often lurks in the bosom, un- 
perceived even by him who harbours and entertains it. 
It is most subtle and insinuating, gliding into the heart, 
and imperceptibly hardening it ; and as " waters wear 
the stones," so covetousness insensibly steals over the 
soul, and gradually, but completely, effaces all the 
finest feelings of our nature. It stiffens the arm that 
was once put forth to charitable deeds ; it closes the 
hand that was wont to be open for the relief of the dis- 
tressed ; it dries up the tear of pity ; it benumbs all 
sympathetic feeling, and, like Medusa's head, trans- 
forms its votaries into stone. It does not always discover 
itself, in an unwillingness to indulge in personal grati- 
fications : it may reign in that heart, which denies itself 
no pleasure, except the exalted one of doing good to 
others. Expensive dress, gay equipage, a luxurious 
table, are not decisive proofs of a generous and liberal 
mind, because even profligate expenditure is not incom- 
patible with a covetous disposition. 



192 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



Covetousness often assumes the names and appearance 
of those properties, and virtues, which are justly held 
in high estimation in the world. Its votaries often call 
it diligence in business, economy, prudence, proper 
care and forethought for their children. These are 
qualities highly commendable ; but unless the heart be 
guarded with a jealous eye, covetousness may enter in 
with them, and so they will be debased. Blending 
with an avaricious principle, they will soon become de- 
generate in their application. The accursed leaven of 
avarice, if once admitted into the heart, will soon assi- 
milate every principle of human nature to its own ma- 
lignant features. When touched by this evil spirit, di- 
ligence becomes sordidness, economy niggardliness, and 
prudence meanness. 

The spirit of covetousness is not confined to any par- 
ticular class of persons ; the poor, and the middling 
ranks of socieiy, may be under its influence, as well 
as those, whose riches are heaped up, and never ex- 
pended on benevolent purposes. The poor man, who 
is discontented with the station which Providence has 
assigned him, and who looks with an envious eye on 
the possessions of others, is under the dominion of the 
spirit of covetousness, as much as the man, whose con- 
tracted heart denies him the power of enjoying his ac- 
cumulated wealth, and who, " in the fulness of his suf- 
ficiency, is in straits." Those who are successfully en- 
gaged in the common walks of business, or in extensive 
mercantile concerns, cannot be too much on their guard 
against the encroachments of this evil. The Scriptural 
exhortation should be constantly impressed on their 
minds, " If riches increase, set not your heart upon 
them." It is here that the evil commences ; diligence 
in business is commendable, and success calls for thank- 
fulness, but if the heart is set on "uncertain riches," 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



193 



then covetousness has entered into the soul, and diligence 
is exercised with a wrong design, and success is con- 
verted into a curse instead of a blessing. Thankfulness 
for former mercies, is changed into an inordinate desire 
to obtain increasing wealth ; and that prosperity, which 
once excited the sincere gratitude of the heart to God, 
now serves only to call up the spirit of covetousness. 
He who was generous with a moderate share of riches, 
becomes unfeeling, sordidly parsimonious, and even an 
oppressor; while a competency supplied all his wants, 
he gave of that competency to relieve the wants of othecs, 
because he had not then enough to make him covetous; 
but as soon as abundance flowed in upon him, it closed 
bis hand, and "shut up his bowels of compassion he 
then perverted his wealth to make an idol of it, and ex- 
changed the love of God, for the love of money ; and 
he, who of late acknowledged God in all things, now 
makes gold his hope, and says to the fine gold, "Thou 
art my confidence." 

Covetousness makes a man dexterous in evading the 
claims of deserving want, and the demands of every 
worthy object on his bounty. It disposes him to raise 
objections against a good cause, whenever, for the pro- 
motion of it, some of his money is required. Looking 
through the glass which the spirit of covetousness holds 
before his eyes, he thinks he can see satisfactory reasons 
for declining to give his support, either on account of 
some deficiency in the plan of the object proposed to 
his consideration, or some remote evil which may result 
from its prosecution. Or if neither of these objections 
can be made with any appearance of truth, he will affect 
to speak of the superior claims of other objects, which, 
nevertheless, he does not intend to assist. All these 
excuses are made merely to save his money ; and by 
making them, he thinks to clear himself from the charge 

2c 



194 



OX COVETOUSNESS. 



of covetousness, and to satisfy his conscience. The 
pressure of the times, the claims of numerous charitable 
institutions, are often made use of, as pleas to excuse a 
niggardly and covetous spirit ; as if national distresses 
did not press on all, and as if the calls to support the 
many benevolent designs of the age, were not addressed 
to all who have ability to contribute. 

Some persons speak of the frequent solicitations, that 
are made for charitable purposes, as if they only were 
the persons required to give of their substance. They 
conclude to give to none, because the objects are so 
numerous. The necessary expenditure in the family, 
and on other unavoidable occasions, is sometimes stated 
as an apology for withholding their money, when any 
donation for a benevolent purpose, is requested from 
rich persons who are under the influence of covetous- 
ness. But the claims which are made in the shape of 
family expenses, and the legal demands of taxes and 
parochial rates, are altogether distinct from that which 
is due on the ground of generosity and benevolence. 
One duty does not destroy the validity of another; and 
justice is never opposed to true charity, because the 
latter always foregoes its claims, when in competition 
with the paramount duties of the former. Persons of 
this description, who do contribute, never give accord- 
ing to the merit of the object, or the scale of their pro- 
perty, but only in the meanest proportion, that can 
screen them from the imputation of avarice. They 
will not commence a list of donations with their own 
names, lest they should give too much, that is, more 
than they might have surrendered, and yet have escaped 
the appellation of a miser : in cases where something 
must be given, they wait to see the contributions of 
others, and then inscribe their own, not according to a 
fair computation of comparative ability, but in the 



ON COVETOTJSNESS. 



195 



smallest possible amount, and merely as a fee for 
the enrolment of their name in the annals of charity. 
They give their paltry contribution with many good 
wishes for the success of the cause ; and what is this 
but saying, " Depart in peace, be you warmed and 
filled ; notwithstanding they give not those things which 
are needful !" 

When the character of a man is generally known, as 
a mean and covetous person, the advocates of charity 
often endeavour to approach him with that lawful craft- 
iness, of which the Apostle Paul speaks, and thus to 
take him with guile. But Argus had not more eyes, 
nor more vigilance, than the ever-wakeful spirit of eo- 
vetousness. As soon as the advocate of benevolence 
touches on the confines of a personal application for 
money, the alarm is taken, and the churl endeavours 
to prevent a direct solicitation of his aid, by anticipating 
a variety of reasons, which would justify a positive de- 
nial oh his part. It is very common on such occasions, 
to hear the covetous man assert as an apology for not 
rendering any assistance, that large sums are owed to 
him, which he cannot obtain; but this shuffle, when 
stripped of its evasive form, means no more than that 
the man has much money at interest on ample securities. 
Thus he makes the bulk of his property, which is not 
at hand, an excuse for withholding a moderate portion, 
which he could at all times dispense. Some of the baser 
sort descend to palpable untruth, in endeavouring to 
evade the discharge of any duty of charity, and affirm 
that they have no money at all — not even a single shill- 
ing ; meaning that they have none in some particular 
place, in some one bag or coffer ; and thus by mental 
reservations, they think to save their money and their 
veracity ; while, in fact, they are guilty of deliberate 
falsehood, invented with more art, and cloaked with 
deeper disguise than usual. 



196 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



The "love of money" is declared by inspiration, to 
be " the root of all evil." It has its source in the " pride 
of life," which influences the mind in a great variety 
of ways. Men do not always desire money, for the 
sake of the enjoyments which it will enable them to 
procure; this w r ould at least be rational; but the covet- 
ous man, if proud and haughty, desires it that he may 
outvie his neighbours in sumptuousness and splendour 
of appearance ; or if he be of a meaner or more sordid 
turn of mind, he then desires it with the prospective 
notion of a foolish and empty kind of posthumous 
fame, that it may be said of him after his decease that 
he died possessed of such and such a sum of money ! 
Amazing folly ! Shall a man look for pleasure, in the 
report that shall be spread abroad of his immense riches, 
when he is gone naked to his final account — gone to 
answer to his Lord and Judge, for the manner in which 
he discharged his extensive trust and stewardship ! 
What greater inconsistency can be exhibited, than a 
being, destined for immortality, in love with a little 
heap of shining ore, — willing to risk heaven, for the 
sake of aquiring a greater share of this ore than his 
fellow-creatures, — having his heart set upon that which 
is not — upon that which he knows he must leave, and 
that very soon, and for ever ! — Man possesses really no 
more than he enjoys. This is the criterion of true 
wealth ; and therefore the contented poor man is richer 
than the self-tormenting miser, who hoards up his pelf, 
that he may have the single gratification of beholding 
it with his eyes. 

Many avaricious persons profess to be deeply impress- 
ed with the duty which they owe to their children, and 
persuade themselves that they are making lawful and 
proper provision for them, when they are in fact merely 
indulging their own love of money. The saying of the 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



197 



Apostle, c f that parents should lay up for the children," 
is perverted by thousands, who think thereby to justify 
themselves in that accursed policy, which leads them 
to hoard up for their children the portion of the poor 
and destitute. And they are confirmed in their conduct 
by the too general approbation of the world ; for such 
persons are generally commended as prudent men, and 
good fathers. " The wicked boasteth of his heart's de- 
sire, and blesseth the covetous whom the Lord abhor- 
reth." The appeal of the distressed poor, and the cry 
of suffering from the hovels of poverty and wretchedness 
and from the bed of sorrow and pain, are made in vain 
in the ears of those who profess to have so tender a regard 
for their posterity, and who are accumulating wealth, 
in the presumption of its being enjoyed by their de- 
scendants. These persons disclaim all connection with 
covetousness ; nay, they are loudest in condemning it, 
and yet are themselves slaves to its influence. What 
debate, what consultation, before they resolve to take 
the smallest pittance from their treasures, and thus de- 
fraud their heirs (so they speak,) by adding one comfort 
to the destitute ! Ah, what a delusion is this ! Your 
children may not live to possess all the labour that you 
have taken under the sun ; or they may spend in riotous 
living and profligate courses, the riches kept to their 
hurt. They may rush into many follies and vices, from 
which they might have escaped, had not your ill-judged 
parsimony empowered them to indulge in the wicked 
and vain imaginations of their hearts. Thus while you 
are naked and poor in the grave, the wealth you have 
gathered will be as fire in the bones of your children. 
O die not with the curse of the poor on your heads, but 
give to the needy that portion of your property, which 
God demands in their name, and which he committed 
to your charge for this very purpose. Let your chil- 



198 



ON COVETOUSJVESS. 



dren be heirs to the " blessing of those that were ready 
to perish," and they will be richer, far richer than if 
they inherited the most ample estates, subject to the an- 
ger of heaven. 

<c If the rich man in the parable, (that parable being 
regarded for a moment as a literal fact,) might have 
been permitted to send a message to his relatives on 
earth, what might we imagine as the first thing, which 
the anguish of his spirit would have uttered on such a 
message ? Would it not have been an emphatic ex- 
pression of the suffering, which the wealth he had ador- 
ed, inflicted on him now, as if it ministered incessant 
fuel to his fires ? Would he not have breathed out an 
earnest entreaty, that it might not remain in that entire- 
ties s in which it had been his idol ; as if any alleviation 
might in some way arise, from its being in any other 
state and use, than that in which he had sacrificed his soul 
to it ? ' Send away some of that accursed accumulation ; 
give some of it to the cause of God, if he will accept 
what has been made an abomination, by being put in 
his stead. Send some of it away, if it be but in pity to 
him, of whom you surely cannot sometimes help think- 
ing, while you are enjoying it. Can you in your plea- 
sures and pride escape the bitter thought, that for every 
gratification which that wealth administers to you, it in- 
flicts an unutterable pang on him, by whose deatli it has 
become yours, and by whose perdition it is so much !'*" 

Many indulge in covetousness, while they imagine 
they are merely exercising in a proper manner, a pow- 
er which God has conferred upon them ; they suppose 
they have a right to do as they please with what they 
call their own. But why has God distinguished thee 
from thy poor neighbour, by bestowing on thee the 
riches of this world, but that thou mightest " do good, 
* Foster's Missionary Sermon. 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 199 

and be rich in good works." The rich are stewards of 
God's bounty ; and if they withhold it from the poor and 
destitute, they are unjust towards God, as those are 
dishonest towards men, who refuse to pay their just debts. 
He who withholds his money till his death, and then be- 
queaths it to any charitable purpose whatever, does not 
make any atonement for his injustice, in having kept 
back what he ought to have distributed as a steward— 
as an almoner of God's bounty ; for what he gives in 
posthumous charity, deserves no praise, because he then 
gives what he can no longer retain — what is no longer 
his own. 

A man may give some of his substance, merely to 
pacify his conscience, and may think thereby to have 
complied with the command of the Scriptures, and to 
have fulfilled his duty to his neighbour. But he falls 
short in the best and purest part of the duty, which is 
a cheerful bestowment of our aid, with a compassionate 
heart and a liberal hand. We are commanded to love 
our neighbour as ourselves; and this is a duty far more 
comprehensive, than the churl is willing to allow; for 
although the extremely avaricious man may literally 
bestow on his neighbour, as much as his own griping 
necessities wring from him, in expenditure on his own 
person, yet there is a selfishness in his avarice, which 
prompts him to add continually to his store, and which 
goes not so much into his best actions towards others, as 
to be a part of the principle which produced them, and 
to constitute his droppings of money a benevolence. 
He that gives, but does it grudgingly, does not act up 
to the spirit of the Divine precept. — And, again, rich 
men are commanded to be " ready to distribute ; willing 
to communicate;" but if they give of necessity, and 
only in the scanty proportion which their covetousness 
assigns to the command of God, they fall short in the 



200 



OX COVETOL SXESS. 



required principle and motive, and their gift is not a 
sacrifice well- pleasing to Him, who " loveth a cheerful 
giver," but only an unwilling offering to necessity, per- 
formed grudgingly and with an improper aim. 

If men wish to know whether they are under the con- 
trol of this basest of passions — the love of money for 
itself, let them sincerely and conscientiously enquire, 
whether in hoarding up their wealth, they do it out of 
disinterested love for their heirs, (from whom they can- 
not withhold their riches but for a time,) or whether 
they keep it as a defence — as that which, in the absence 
of virtue, procures them respect and consideration among 
men, — as the grand and chief distinction in this life, — 
as the end and object of their existence on the earth. 
The hoarding up of money must proceed from one of these 
causes. If it be from disinterested regard for those that 
are to inherit his wealth, it is strange that such a feeling 
never prompts the covetous man, to dispense some por- 
tion of his hoard to his needy relatives, while he is living, 
and thus to put an end to the calculations, which their 
poverty causes them to make on his long-expected, and 
wished-for death. Alas ! we need not hesitate in de- 
ciding the motive by which the avaricious man is actu- 
ated. Who is there that heaps up treasure with the 
thought of leaving it ? What covetous man toils to in- 
crease his hoard, with any secret reference to the benefit 
of his heirs ? It is the idea of possessing, of retaining, 
and not of leaving or distributing his wealth, that ex- 
cites the avaricious man. O what good might rich 
persons do, if they would act on this simple consider- 
ation, If I give such and such sums to certain objects o f 
charity, I shall not deprive myself of one comfort; nor 
will my heirs know of the deduction from my property, if 
I leave no memorandums of the expenditure. 

While instructing the covetous man, in the means and 



ON COVETOTJSNESS. 



201 



the obligation of doing good according to his ability, it 
may be proper to make a few remarks on charity. Per- 
haps more has been said, and less felt on this subject 
than on any other. Reasoning upon the duty, and ac- 
knowledging its universal obligation, are put in the 
place of discharging it ; and many excuse themselves 
by various reasons, from the performance of that which 
is nevertheless said to be the duty of all. The truth is, 
there is too little self-denial in most persons, who are in- 
fluenced by a charitable feeling ; and for the rest, they never 
reflect on the relief which their superfluous comforts and 
luxuries would confer on the destitute. How many are 
perishing for lack of those things, which are by many 
consumed in waste and riot. How many poor widows 
are compelled to subsist on a weekly allowance, amount- 
ing, in many cases, to less than a tenth part of what 
is consumed by a few convivialists at one entertainment. 
That wine which is drunk by those who are neither 
thirsty nor infirm, would save some languishing son of 
poverty from the grave. And let not those, who do 
not add drunkenness to their thirst, and against whom 
the charge of profligacy cannot be brought, think to 
shelter themselves from leaving undone, what was obli- 
gatory on their part towards the poor, by the plea of 
managing their affairs with prudence and discretion ; 
they also consume much in useless expenditure, either 
on dress or furniture, if not on the dainties and gluttony 
of the table, which, if judiciously distributed, would 
bring down upon them the blessing of the fatherless, and 
make the widow's heart to sing for joy. 

Again, let no one excuse himself by averring, that 
he knows not of any who are in extreme poverty or 
distress, and that the recital of such cases never meets 
his ear. Although Cain renounced the charge, yet we 
are to a certain degree our brothers' keepers. Ought 

2 D 



202 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



we not to enquire into our neighbour's poverty : — ought 
we not to enter the hovels of wretchedness, and suffer 
the sight of misery to make way to our hearts, and 
make our hands active, and our feet swift to dispense 
the relief that is in our power ? The obligation to this 
duty is not according to our pecuniary ability, but it 
is binding on all ; those that have not money or food to 
bestow, have yet the tear of sympathy to shed,— nnay yet 
speak a kind word. How many of the deserving poor 
and needy are too modest to make their cases known ; 
how many have no opportunity of telling their troubles 
and sorrows, to such as have power to relieve them. 
Instances are not wanting, of persons falling into fatal 
diseases, solely because they have not had sufficient 
nourishment for their bodies, and this too within the 
reach of houses where plenty reigns. And yet the pro- 
prietors of these houses would think themselves slandered, 
by a charge of cruel inattention to the wants of the neigh- 
bouring poor ; they would repel the accusation of being 
unfeeling and hardhearted. But does not blood lie at 
the doors of those, who suffer such things to take place 
within the range of their ability to prevent them, and 
even under their windows without any enquiry ? — iC If 
thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, 
and those that are ready to be slain ; if thou sayest, be- 
hold we knew it not ; doth not He that pondereth the 
heart consider ? and He that keepeth thy soul doth He 
not know it ? and shall not He render to every man ac- 
cording to his works r" — Ct He that giveth unto the poor 
shall not lack; but he that hideth his eyes shall have 
many a curse." 

Among the fruits of covetousness, there is none more 
hateful and injurious, than that which induces men to 
make a regular and even barter, between the wages 
which they allow their servants, and the services per- 



OX COVETOUSNESS. 



203 



formed by them. So that as soon as infirmity, or 
sudden illness, unfits the servants for the discharge of 
their accustomed duties, they are dismissed by their 
employers as useless and having no further claim on 
them for support or assistance. There is no species of 
ingratitude more detestable, than that of discarding old 
and worn-out servants, who have spent their youth and 
strength in service, and whose very life, as to the vigour 
and comfort of it, has been the price of a large share of 
the conveniences and enjoyments of their masters. 
Where there is sufficient property, it is doubtless the du- 
ty of a master to continue to afford either entire support, 
or occasional assistance, to worn-out servants, and not 
to cast them aside, as is done witli an old and useless 
piece of mechanism, which was constructed solely for 
the use of its proprietor. 

A truly-grateful mind retains a thankful remembrance 
of kindnessess, by whatever persons they may have 
been performed, whether by equals, or by those who 
moved in the humble rank of servants. A regard to 
justice also, as well as a feeling of gratitude, will 
prompt a generous master to secure, not merely the 
subsistence, but the comfort of his worn-out servant, 
who has not only faithfully discharged the terms of the 
contract, which assigned his portion of labour during 
his servitude, but has also largely promoted the conve- 
nience and advantage of his employer; and has contri- 
buted to these ends in a thousand ways, which could not 
be required of him nor exacted in the shape of duties, 
but which sprung from an honest principle and a kind 
heart. — A period of long and faithful service, amounts 
in fact to an equitable claim of adoption into the family 
of a wealthy master, so far as relates to the duty of that 
master, to provide for his household, and to cherish 
them in sickness or distress.— A man of true liberality 



204 



ON covetousness. 



and strict honesty, always feels this obligation, and acts 
according to it ; but the selfish and niggardly need to 
be put in mind of what they owe to others, and to be 
urged to the performance of a duty, to which their co- 
vetousness indisposes them. 

Such is the treacherous influence of covetousness, 
that it even induces its decided votaries, to presume 
that they are the faithful servants of God, — that they 
are among his favoured people, even while they are 
yielding themselves up to the full influence and sway 
of that accursed principle. This is to deny the Scriptures, 
and to contradict the Word of God ; for has he not said, 
" Covetousness is idolatry ; " and is an idolater a par- 
taker of his Spirit ? When the Scriptures pronounce 
Covetousness to be idolatry, they do not mean that mo- 
ney is worshipped in the same way, in which Pagan 
nations pay their adoration to senseless idols ; but that 
the very essence of the sin is found in the vice of covet- 
ousness, because it withdraws from God, and places on 
a created good, those affections which are due only to 
the Supreme Being. Whatever assumes that place in 
the heart, which God alone should hold, — whatever is 
trusted in as a defence with that reliance, which should 
be placed only on God, is an idol ; and the heart which 
yields to it those alienated affections, and builds on it 
that false trust, becomes the residence of an idol, and 
not " the temple of the living God." With what reason 
then can a man, who is living under the influence of the 
base spirit of covetousness, claim the appellation of a true 
christian, or the holy relation of an adopted child of 
God ; for <£ what agreement hath the temple of God with 
idols ? " 

Men of wealth and influence are often encouraged in 
this great mistake, by the homage which is paid to them 
on account of their property. They remain ignorant 



OS COVETOUSNESS. 



205 



of their real character, and imagine that the deference 
which is paid to their opinions, and the outward respect 
which is shown to them, is the expression of deserved 
esteem — is a tribute due to their merit. The reason 
that wealth is so much coveted, and the possessors of it 
so much regarded, is that we are apt to forget that it is 
conferred by God, and that there is a great responsibility 
attached to the possession of it. We look upon it too 
much as the fruit of industry and ability, or the mark 
of superior worth, and so exalt the wealthy man in our 
estimation on account of these qualities, although he 
may be entirely destitute of them. No man is treated 
with respect and consideration, on account of possessing 
a robust constitution, or a strong and vigorous body, 
in the absence of wealth, although far superior to it ; 
because we see at once these advantages to be the gifts 
of God; we acknowledge that he distinguishes whom- 
soever he pleases with the bestowment of them, and 
that no merit is due to the possessor, merely because he 
enjoys them. Let us do the same in respect of the out- 
ward circumstances of the estate, and then the possession 
of great riches will be viewed in connexion, not only 
with the ability which they confer, but also with the 
obligations which they impose of doing good. 

But money is made too much a distinction, and so it 
has ever been in all highly civilized nations. The 
question asked in the time of the Roman satirist, still 
occurs in our hearing every day ; 

" Quot pascit servos ? Quot possidet agri 

Jugera ?" 

As soon as a stranger is spoken of, as claiming any 
share of our notice or regard, the enquiry turns imme- 
diately on his wealth ; 

" Protinus ad censum ; de moribus ultima net 
Quaestio." 



206 



ON COVETOUSXESS. 



How many are there, who, having no other superiority, 
than what is conferred by abundant riches, look down 
with contempt, in the pride of that sordid distinction, 
on the poorer and more respectable part of the com- 
munity. The consciousness that the man of integrity, 
or of cultivated mind, must, if poor, come to them for 
assistance, gives them a notion of superiority : and 
knowing that the virtuous, or the intelligent poor man, 
can scarcely struggle through the world in the midst of 
embarrassment and perplexity, their envy of superior 
worth, or superior mental faculties, is changed into a tho- 
rough contempt of every thing which is not either gold 
or silver. 

It is money which adds weight to a preacher's doc- 
trine, gives currency to a man's sayings, carries conviction 
into the breasts of a man's audience, or at least silences 
all objections. " The poor man's wisdom is despised, 
and his words are not heard." 

" Rara in temii facundia panuo." 

If a poor man exerts himself in promoting any laud- 
able object, he is often called a busy-body ; — he there 
touches upon the prerogative of the rich, who though 
they claim the field of usefulness, yet are not always 
found in the career of benevolence. If a person in 
inferior rank, be particularly active in attempting to do 
good, his name is often quoted by the purse-proud and 
niggardly, with the addition of a sneer or a laugh, and 
all this, because having no means of his own to accom- 
plish his benevolent plans, he aims to convince rich 
men of their duty, and to put them into a way of ful- 
filling the end, for which God has bestowed wealth 
upon them. 

What is more frequent, than to hear some rich per- 
sons reprove the conduct of others in humbler circum- 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



207 



stances, for exercising liberality beyond their resources. 
It must be allowed that such liberality is not to be com- 
mended ; it is contrary to prudence, and sometimes, 
perhaps, to justice also. But it is a noble principle; 
it manifests a kind soul — a tender heart; and it is 
emphatically the failing (if it be one) of those, who 
possess but very limited means of performing the liberal 
things, which they devise. These are the persons, who 
are found ever most ready to minister of their substance 
to the necessitous. The rich seldom give too largely,, 
though many of them give without discretion. The 
curb of prudence is seldom required to check the hand 
of the wealthy man, lest he should drain the reservoir 
of his bounty, by too lavishly pouring forth its streams. 
The outcry against this imprudent bounty of those who 
are in straitened circumstances, is raised by many wealthy 
persons, to cover their own niggardliness with the fair 
name of prudence ; and because, when the scanty re- 
sources of the poor liberal man fail, they are in danger 
of being called upon to open their own purses. And 
yet it is but right that they who give not to the poor, 
should give to him, who has dispensed all his substance 
in charitable purposes. 

When the failings of a wealthy man are spoken of, it 
is with every extenuation that can be made ; or they are 
palliated by the application of softer terms than ought 
to be used in characterising vice : his avariciousness is 
termed closeness ; and if he be a profligate, who has 
descended in his vicious career, to the lowest gradation 
of baseness, and treachery, and deceit, he is called a 
gay man ; and the severest reproof that is applied to 
the mention of his vicious courses is, 6 What a pity he 
does not act otherwise.' But the failings of the poor 
man are too often blazoned with exact, and unnecessary, 
and cruel enumeration. Epithets denoting villainy and 



208 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



worthlessness, are unsparingly heaped upon him ; and 
lie is accounted almost unworthy of commiseration. 

What is more common, than to hear the case of some 
unfortunate man of the strictest integrity and good faith, 
lamented by those, who never put forth a helping hand, 
to save him from sinking in the wreck of all his little 
worldly property. Pity is cheap ; and it is too often 
put in the place of generosity. A very common delusion 
arises from the notion that persons have liberal minds, 
and are free from the dominion of covetousness, because 
they are always ready to wish well to others. Few are 
more ready to express their benevolence in words, than 
the covetous, because this is a cheap and easy method 
of pacifying their consciences. 

The foregoing remarks are not intended to be applied 
generally to rich persons. God forbid that such a 
statement should give a faithful representation of all 
who possess wealth, either in competence, or abundance! 
Who is there that cannot name several persons, that are 
as distinguished for their beneficent actions, as for their 
extensive property ? The writer has the happiness of 
knowing many such characters. And the age in which 
we live, is certainly marked by the unwearied exertions 
of benevolence, in the cause of enlightened philanthropy. 
The intention of the writer is not to depreciate the cha- 
racter of the wealthy, but to expose the secret holds of 
the spirit of covetousness, to detect its multiplied di- 
versity of appearance, to lay bare its hideous features, 
and show some of its hateful consequences. 

Let the covetous man be satisfied with the distinction 
which arises from his wealth; let him quiet his conscience 
with the soothing reflection, that no man condemns 
him, save those who have not the same share of money, 
whose opinion in his estimation is beneath notice ; but 
let him also recollect, that the decisions of heaven are 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



209 



not according to man's judgment, and that there is an 
unchangeable decree concerning him gone forth from 
the Eternal, and registered in his written Word. 

When it is affirmed that avarice contains in it the seeds 
of every vice, no more is advanced than can be readily 
proved ; for the love of money is the predominant feel- 
ing in the breast of the covetous man, and this love is 
the " root of all evil." He is hurried on by it in all his 
pursuits ; he has given himself up to it ; it has taken 
complete possession of him ; and if no means which may 
be called legal, could be found by which he might in 
some degree gratify this sordid propensity, it is not to 
be supposed that he would hesitate to commit robbery, 
or even murder, to effect his purpose. " There is not a 
more wicked thing than a covetous man; for such a one 
setteth his own soul to sale. ,r 

The covetous are ever on the watch, to put any thing 
in the place of practical beneficence. Some of this 
stamp may be found who will readily acknowledge that 
God is the Giver of all their possessions, and who pre- 
tend to express much thankfulness to Divine Providence, 
that they have never wanted the necessaries of life. 
This hypocritical cant is only a piece of deceit, whereby 
they think to cloak the spirit of covetousness, which 
predominates in their hearts ; for if they truly acknow- 
ledged the hand, that bestows all their wealth, they 
would also acknowledge the government of God over 
that wealth, as well as over their mind and person. 
But the covetous man thinks himself accountable to no 
one, for the use which he makes of his riches ; he es- 
teems himself, whatever his professions may be, absolute 
and independent master of all his possessions. The 
spirit of covetousness never forsakes him. He does 
every thing with a secret reference to his money. What- 
ever he undertakes, thinks, or purposes, or discourses 

2e 



210 



ON COVETOUSNESS. 



of, this feeling comes in for its share in all his induce- 
ments, motives, apprehensions, and desires. Ask him 
to engage in any pursuit, he refers to this spirit, and 
acts agreeably to its decision. Solicit him to do a kind 
action, his mind instantly recurs to his money, and ac- 
cording to the dirty, grovelling sentiment, which such 
a consideration awakens in his breast, will be his answer. 
Ask a rich but covetous person for the merest trifle, in 
behalf of the most worthy object, and you alarm the 
base principle within him, which is ever suspicious and 
wakeful. Fearing to be over-reached, or to part unad- 
visedly with that which is the soul of all his sordid 
pleasure, and which he looks upon as the root of his 
very existence, he demands time to consider of your 
request ; he is not to be surprised into a generous action, 
even of the cheapest kind. He is at all times in his 
strong hold. The covetous principle recurs to him at 
every turn ; he looks on all things through this medium ; 
he speaks as this spirit gives him utterance ; he acts in 
obedience to its movements on his soul. And if at any 
time he is prevailed upon to open his clenched hand, his 
heart goes not with the scanty pittance, and his gift 
confers no obligation, because it wants that promptitude 
which is the soul of generosity. 

The respect which is paid to those who are in pos- 
session of great wealth, and which is not withheld even 
when there are no moral qualities in the possessor to 
procure esteem, is one great cause of the vice of covet- 
ousness being so general. No expression of outward 
respect is refused by the generality of persons, towards 
notoriously griping and niggardly characters ; and yet 
these characters are violators of the laws of God, and 
enemies to society, in one of the most attractive and 
distinguishing features of its constitution. Covetousness 
in Scripture is called idolatry, the most hateful sin in the 



OJV COVETOUSNESS. 



211 



sight of God ; and the covetous man defrauds his poor 
neighbour of that portion, which God had placed in 
his hands in trust for the children of want. Were this 
vice as disreputable in society, as some others which 
partake in fact of less guilt towards God, and are less 
injurious to man ; and were the rich defaulter, in every 
case of moral delinquency, treated with the same se- 
verity as is shown towards the poor culprit, we should 
meet with less frequent, or, at least, less flagrant in- 
stances of the effects of covetousness. But, can we 
expect that such a state of society will ever arrive, when 
riches without merit will not be able to purchase regard ; 
when only men of integrity and usefulness, will be 
called respectable ; when covetousness will be seen in 
its true light by all, and its votaries be shunned as 
violators of one of the first duties of humanity — as en- 
emies of their species ; when " the vile person shall no 
more be called liberal, nor the churl said to be boun- 
tiful ?" 



ESSAY VI 



WV SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 
■* » •» 

" KNOW THYSELF," is a maxim of twofold 
authority ; it comes to us indeed from the mouth of the 
Grecian sage, so far as relates to the conciseness and 
form of the expression, but it has a higher sanction from 
the Word of God. The scriptural commands, either 
implied, or expressly given, which relate to this im- 
portant attainment, are very numerous : " Commune 
with your own heart." — " Examine yourselves whether 
ye be in the faith ; prove yourselves." — " Keep thy 
heart with all diligence." — u Ponder the path of thy 
feet." A knowledge of our own character is necessary 
in the affairs of the present life, but much more in those 
which are connected with the eternal state. The want 
of it has led many persons to intrude into situations, 
which they were not at all qualified to sustain. A man 
may easily know more of the duties of any particular 
office, than of his own competency to perform them. 
Few persons know much of what is in their hearts, ex- 
cept those who have experienced great vicissitudes of 
condition, and have been at the same time in the habit 
of close observation on their own character. 

Circumstances often educe those evil and depraved 
passions, which lurked in the heart unknown, and un- 
suspected, because unexcited. Many persons have for 
a long period maintained a high reputation, while they 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



213 



lived in a condition, which was free from the excite- 
ment of any peculiar trials or temptations ; till a change 
of situation has suddenly exhibited their true character, 
by discovering those evil propensities, which before lay 
dormant and unheeded in their hearts, but which being 
roused, are brought into action in all their force and 
malignity. This consideration should restrain our harsh 
judgments in such cases, because we are ourselves ex- 
posed to become examples of the same depravity. We 
are unable to judge of the guilt of other persons' con- 
duct. We know not what force has been superadded 
to the temptations by which they have been assailed, on 
account of the peculiar state of their minds at the time 
when they fell. We know not the invincible ignorance 
under which they may have laboured, nor the darkness 
which prejudices of early education, or the contagion 
of bad examples, may have brought over their under- 
standings. God only can pronounce on the degree of 
moral criminality, which attaches to any person ; because 
He only knows the state of their hearts and minds at 
all times. Have we not a thousand times planned and 
purposed many evils, from which we have been re- 
strained by the Providence of God, but the guilt of 
which lies on our souls, being imputed to us by that 
holy law which judges the secrets of the heart, as well 
as the outward conduct of the life ? It is more than 
probable, that many of our secret sins, for which we 
have felt but little remorse, which we have completely 
cloaked from the world, and which, if known, would 
not perhaps bring upon us any severe reproaches from 
man, nor cover our faces with shame, are notwithstand- 
ing more grievous to the Holy Spirit, more hateful in 
the sight of God, and render us more guilty before 
Him, than some of the more flagrant and open trans- 
gressions of others, whom we have condemned with un- 
sparing indignation. 



214 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



The universal weakness and depravity of man, and 
Ins liability to fall beneath the force of temptation, pre- 
clude for ever the possibility of justification by our own 
righteousness ; because if we have not been guilty of 
the actual commission of many gross and flagrant sins, 
yet the seeds of all evil are at all times in our hearts, 
and the opportunity and temptation of peculiar circum- 
stances are alone wanted, to bring those evils into -ex- 
ercise. Tims, according to the reasoning of the Apos- 
tle. w every mouth must be stopped, and all the world 
become guilty before God," "that no flesh should glory 
in his presence ; w "for there is no respect of persons 
with God." The oft-cited case of Hazael, proves that 
men know not their own hearts; and that he who acts 
his part well in an inferior station, and is a useful mem- 
ber in the lower gradations of society, may become in 
a more exalted rank, a pest as odious and destructive 
as his influence and power are extensive. Even Nero 
when young, was susceptible of the tender feelings of 
humanity : and he who became afterwards the plague 
and curse of li is nation, gave at one time fair and hope- 
ful evidence of becoming the father of his people. 

Want of self-knowledge leads to much self-deception. 
The covetous man is often so far deluded, as to esteem 
himself liberal and generous ; and if any persons, who 
have at any time been under his control and direction, 
become prosperous and useful members of society, he 
does not hesitate to take the credit of such a result to 
himself, although lie neither intended such an end, nor 
promoted it with his own aid and bounty. Did we 
know more of our own character, we should not be so 
often overcome by those temptations, into which we 
presumptuously run with a fond reliance on our own 
supposed strength. A thousand defeats do not serve to 
make us wiser : we are daily vanquished by the same 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



215 



besetting sins, and yet are prone to forget the defeat, 
and incautiously to place ourselves again and again in 
the same perilous situations, and to venture again sin- 
gle-handed to the combat ; instead of looking up to 
God with a confession of our weakness, and crying to 
Him for help and strength, to enable us to fight the 
good fight of faith, and to resist with success the covert 
designs, and open attacks of our spiritual adversaries. 

It is a common delusion of the human heart, to enter 
on many pursuits without due inquiry into their nature 
and tendency, through fear that such an inquiry would 
either induce us to relinquish the favourite object, or 
bring us under the guilt of doing violence to our 
conscience, by continuing to follow that course, of the 
unlawfulness of which, we have obtained undoubted evi- 
dence. The guilt of any wrong course is proportioned 
to the information which we might have acquired by 
diligent search, respecting its conformity to the will 
of God, or its tendency to injure our spiritual welfare ; 
and not in proportion to that degree of information, 
which we choose to procure. There is a certain degree 
of christian liberty in this case, which is often misunder- 
stood, and stretched far beyond its proper extent. 
When St. Paul was instructing the Corinthians in the 
nature of christian liberty, he allowed them, when sit- 
ting at the tables of unbelievers^ to eat whatever was 
set before them, without any unnecessary inquiry as to 
the designation of any part of the food, by him that 
provided the entertainment, on the principle that "the 
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof and 
therefore whatsoever was set before them of the creatures 
of God, was to be received with thankfulness, and 
would be attended with the Divine blessing. The prin- 
ciple here recommended, is often abused. We often 
engage in many things, without any examination of their 



216 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE, 



nature and tendency, either for conscience' sake, or for 
God's sake ; and often persist in our ways, even after 
circumstances have plainly said to us, u This is offered 
in sacrifice unto idols." 

>Ve may neglect many duties on account of our igno^ 
ranee with respect to the nature and extent of the talents 
committed to us, or the obligations under which we lie 
to "occupy" them to our own improvement, to the good 
of others, and to the glory of our Maker. Therefore 
the knowledge of ourselves, of our characters and duties, 
and of the particulars of our condition, is most import- 
ant, and should be the object of our daily study. The 
true extent of our duty is not limited by those parts of it 
only, which are so prominent as to force themselves up- 
on our attention ; but it is according to what we may 
know, if we inquire with diligence and earnest desire, and 
to what we may perform, if we are resolute in our endea- 
vours, and constant in seeking from God that assistance, 
of which we stand in need. We should ever remember 
that He u with whom we have to do," and who will be 
our future 'Judge, knows exactly our situation, and all 
the opportunities which it affords us of doing good ; 
He sees at all times our deficiencies, and the extent and 
nature of all the obligations connected with our circum- 
stances, in all their parts, and in all their bearings. 

It is however in a religious point of view, that self- 
knowledge is most important ; because a mistake in the 
estimation which we make of our own character in the 
sight of God, may lead us to a loss of the greatest magni- 
tude, and also irreparable. A false notion of security 
prevents persons who are exposed to danger, from mak- 
ing use of the only means of deliverance. How can a 
man endeavour to regain the favour of God, unless he 
first apprehend that he lias lost that favour, and conse- 
quently incurred his anger ? He who has become crim- 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



217 



inal, is in danger of punishment ; but unless a man be 
convicted in his own conscience of sin against God, lie 
will neither deprecate his wrath, nor apply to the means 
of reconciliation. Such is the love of God, and so com- 
plete is the redemption which is by Jesus Christ, that a 
man's greatest danger consists not in the number, or the 
heinous nature of his sins, but in his remaining unim- 
pressed by a sense of his condition as a sinner, and so neg- 
lecting to avail himself of the salvation which is freely 
offered — neglecting to flee to the hope that is set before 
him. 

u There is a generation," says Solomon, "that is 
pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their 
filthiness." Here is a fatal mistake ; for a refuge is 
prepared for those only, who, from an apprehension of 
danger, betake themselves to it ; a Saviour is provided 
for those only, who, being convinced of sin, and aware 
of the threatenings which God has denounced against 
it, flee to Him with earnest cries for mercy. There is a 
remarkable deficiency of self-knowledge in three classes 
of characters : — in those who have never been convinced 
of sin ; in those, who though partially convinced, are 
righteous in their own eyes ; and in those who are look- 
ing for salvation, though they continue in sin. 

There are many persons who have never been con- 
vinced of sin, that is, of their own sin. They do not ob- 
ject to the general application of the term sinners, to the 
whole of the human race, and they rank themselves ac- 
cordingly under this appellation. But if the charge be 
brought home to their own conscience, and the conse- 
quences enforced with individual and personal applica- 
tion, then they meet both with the excuse, 4 We are not worse 
than others.' And thus, although by their own confession 
they fail under the sentence of being partakers in the 
universal guilt, which attaches to the species, they 

2 F 



218 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE-. 



claim an exemption from any great degree of individual 
sinfulness, and from being thereby exposed to its penal 
consequences. We are sinners, say such persons, but 
God is merciful ; and here they leave the case, without 
further inquiry into the nature and extent of their own 
transgressions, or the denounced punishment which 
liang-s over their heads, or the medium by which the 
mercy of God is imparted to sinners. 

The extent of the law of God, stretching its authority 
over every action of the life; and its spirituality, em- 
bracing every thought and secret purpose of the heart, 
are unknown to many persons. They conform to the 
regulations of civilized society, and with respect to the 
laws of the land in which they reside, they are blame- 
less ; and these are the only points on which they ex- 
amine their hearts. They seem to consider themselves 
as being accountable to man, but not to God,-— as living 
under the inspection of their fellow- creatures, but not 
under the eye and observance of heaven. Thus their 
conduct has no reference to the Will and Word of God, 
and they act as beings independent of Him, of his con- 
trol and authority ; and they overlook and regard as 
venial, those things which are not cognizable by the 
laws of their country. Their guilt towards heaven 
consists in their own estimation, in some offences vague- 
ly defined and indistinctly understood; and their righ- 
teousness, in not defrauding any one, in wishing well to 
their neighbours, in giving occasional alms to the poor, 
in having what they ignorantly call a good heart, and 
in rendering to Caesar the things which are Caesar's : 
but they withhold from God the allegiance due unto 
Him ; He is rarely the subject of their thoughts. They 
often join in prayer to God as their Father, but remain 
ignorant of the nature of spiritual adoption ; — they join 
in the cry to God for his mercy, but know not what 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



219 



they supplicate, nor of what they stand in need. With 
respect to their own sins, their conscience remains at 
perfect ease; and when they speak of the anger of God, 
or of a future judgment, they seem to account these to 
be dreadful only to some particular classes, whom they 
call sinners — persons notoriously vile, open deflers of 
God, and violators of every law of society ; and be- 
cause their own hearts do not accuse them of such fla- 
grant crimes, they are insensible to the danger which 
impends over them, and remain unaffected by all the 
threatenings of God's Word against the careless as well 
as the impenitent — against the slothful as well as the 
injurious — against unbelievers as well as the unholy. 
They look upon heaven as a state of exemption from 
suffering, and of enjoyment of they know not what plea- 
sures, and regard it more as an alternative to be chosen 
rather than to fall into hell ; but not as a holy place, to 
be desired on its own account, and for the sake of the 
fruition of God's immediate presence and glory. 

There are some persons, who are very ingenious in 
so classifying sins, that they contrive to excuse their 
own evil courses, by using the more depraved habits of 
others, as foils to set off their own fancied superiority. 
These do not esteem themselves innocent ; but only not 
so guilty as others. They may be called Comparative 
Moralists. They defend many improper practices in 
which they indulge, on the ground of their not being 
so bad as some other practices, from which they refrain. 
Thus, gaming is more innocent than slandering our 
neighbour; as if we were under a necessity of doing 
one or the other. Reprove them for sabbath-breaking ; 
and this is not so bad as hypocrisy, or a pretended god- 
liness, assumed as a cloak for villainy. Rebuke them for 
the sin of profaning the name of God, by an unhallowed 
introduction of it into common discourse, or by profane 



220 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



swearing ; and they meet the charge, by exclaiming a- 
gainst the worse vice of lying, of which they boast 
themselves guiltless. Remind them of the dangerous 
consequences of their present course of life ; and then 
they affirm that they have never injured or defrauded any 
one, although they allow themselves to be their own 
enemies. Their conduct certainly, as they are ready 
to confess, is sometimes a little out of the way, but then 
they have good hearts, and they hope God will make 
great allowance for their particular inclinations, and 
their peculiar circumstances. 

To such persons a Saviour is of no value, the death 
of Christ an unnecessary sacrifice, and redemption a 
gratuitous provision ; for so long as they are above the 
lowermost gradation, in the scale of sin and folly, they 
are secure (in their own opinion) from final condemnation. 
And what man can be found, who really thinks him- 
self the worst ? Many may indeed be willing to adopt 
the Apostle's confession, and say, they are the chief of 
sinners : but it is only in general terms that they adopt 
the expression, for if you proceed to detail, and to ac- 
cuse them of crimes against God and man of the black- 
est enormity, they shrink from the charge. Their con- 
sciences, in fact, acquit them of more sinfulness than 
the term chief of sinners seems to imply ; the aggregate 
of their sins may amount to an alarming account, but 
if judged according to their individual atrocity, it will 
be more tolerable for them than for the crimes of many 
others, the sum of whose guilt appears of much less 
magnitude. 

So lightly do many persons think of sin, that they 
account it perfectly rational, to defer all preparation 
for death to the hurry and distress of a sick-bed. They 
esteem salvation so trifling a matter, as to be readily 
obtained at the last breath, provided there be only time 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE, 



221 



sufficient to utter one ejaculatory petition to God for 
mercy. When they have spent their health and vigour 
in the cares and pleasures of the world, and in the ser- 
vice of sin, and are confined to a sick-bed, and assured 
from the nature of their malady that recovery is hope- 
less, they set about making their peace with God, (as 
the common phrase is,) in the same technical, busi- 
ness-like manner, as they do to make their last will 
and testament. The proper officers are required to at- 
tend ; the attorney to dispose of their property, and 
the minister to arrange matters for the safe conveyance 
of their soul to heaven ! The favour of God which 
man lost by the transgression of Adam, and for the re- 
covery of which, no price less than the blood of the 
Son of God could suffice, is by these deluded men es- 
teemed a thing of easy purchase. They endeavour to 
procure it by a few equivocal expressions of sorrow and 
regret, for the evil tenour of their past lives, and by 
the repetition of a few heartless prayers ; and thus they 
lull their consciences asleep, and conclude a life of 
thoughtlessness and sin, by spending its last moments 
jn speaking a false peace to their souls ; and having 
during the whole of their life called evil good, and good 
evil, they compass themselves about at the last with 
sparks of their own kindling, and close their eyes in 
death to lie down in everlasting sorrow ! 

A faithful minister never finds himself so much em- 
barrassed, as when called upon to attend the death-beds 
of such characters. He knows not how to address them. 
They have lived in ignorance and blindness, as to spi- 
ritual things, all their days; they have no ideas nor 
perceptions in common with christians. In speaking 
to them, he cannot even use the language of Scripture, 
nor the expressions of most common use among christians, 
without being misunderstood. Shall he speak to them 



222 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



of the finished salvation of Christ ? They profess im- 
mediately to trust to nothing else, and doubt not of their 
interest in it. Shall he attempt to set forth in the 
strongest light, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the an- 
ger of God against sinners, the depravity of human 
nature, the deceitfulness and desperate wickedness of 
the heart of man, the necessity of regeneration by the 
power of the Holy Spirit, the nature and necessity of 
faith and repentance ? They are not alarmed at the 
faithful statement, their consciences are armed at all 
points; a false delusion has taken possession of their 
souls • they assent to every thing that is asserted, but 
evidently feel and understand nothing; for "a man who 
has never had religion before, no more grows religious 
when he is sick, than a man who has never learned fig- 
ures, can count when he has need of calculation. " 
They listen to the minister with attention, because they 
place a part of the religion which they are now seek- 
ing, in such an act ; they request him to pray, because 
they expect that both his prayers and his instructions 
will be in some way effectual to their final safety. Their 
renunciation of the world, and their forgiveness of those 
who have inj ured them, or against whom they have in- 
dulged malicious feelings, appear to themselves sincere, 
but they are in fact only conditional ; they would not 
endure the test of a recovery to health : and the cessa- 
tion of their hostility towards God and his service, is 
rather a truce, hastily framed by terror and suffering-, 
than a peace ratified by the renovation of the heart, and 
the in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. After having devo- 
ted the morning of their days, and the prime and vigour 
of life to " the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and 
the pride of life," they offer to God their Creator, the 
refuse of their days ! When old age or sickness com- 
pels them to renounce their vices, or rather when their 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



223 



vices leave them, they turn to God of necessity. Is this 
an offering to be presented to Him who requires the 
heart, the whole heart, — to Him who is worthy of the 
best, the undivided affections of the heart, and the de- 
voted service of our lives ! 

To think lightly of sin, is the sure way to fall under 
the condemnation denounced against it ; because such 
a state of mind indisposes the sinner to apply to the on- 
ly means of deliverance. Is the care of the soul of so 
little consequence, that all its interests may be consulted 
and properly secured, during the short and distracted 
hours of a death-bed ? Hearken, ye that are living in 
carelessness upon the earth, and putting far from you 
the evil day ! What time is so unfit for attending to mo- 
mentous concerns, as during the languor, the weariness, 
the pain of sickness ! How often does the death-bed 
of the sinner exhibit only restless tossings to and fro, 
dreadful forebodings of heart, torturing reproaches of 
conscience, and the roving of a hurried and disordered 
imagination ! What if you should remain unconvinced 
of sin, during the whole of life, and unmoved even by 
the terrors of death, will not the awful solemnities of 
the judgment-day awaken you to all the horrors of 
your situation ! Have you ever put this question se- 
riously to yourselves, £ How shall we appear at the bar 
of God?' Perhaps you are saying, 'We are not so 
bad as many ; and if we perish, what will become of 
thousands V You are not to judge of yourselves by 
the conduct of others, but by the Word of God. You 
will stand at the judgment-seat of Christ, as individuals, 
to stand or fall by yourselves, according to your own 
works, and not according to the works of others. Per- 
haps you say, £ We shall do as well as others!* But 
the damnation of others will not alleviate your misery. 
The consideration that he was not alone in the torment- 



224 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



ing flames, did not cool the tongue of Dives, when in 
hell he lifted up his eyes being in torments. While 
you remain unconvinced of sin you are not interested in 
Christ the Surety; and you are therefore like one under 
a sentence, which may be put in force at any time. 
Unless you feel your danger, and necessity, you will 
not desire to have faith in Christ; and u he that believeth 
not the Son, the wrath of God abideth on him." 

Remember, that although you may succeed now, in 
allaying the goadings of conscience, and in placing your 
security in indifference to danger, the hour is coming in 
which every refuge of lies will be swept away. When 
all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the 
Son of Man, there will be no possibility of escape; the 
eye of the Judge will meet the eye of every individual 
of the human race. Happy would it be for those who 
have slighted the offers of the gospel, — who have turn- 
ed a deaf ear to the invitations of grace and mercy, — 
who have made the world their God, and have neglect- 
ed Divine ordinances; — happy would it be for such, 
could they remain for ever in the darkness of the grave, 
and be sheltered from the great day of wrath in the 
bowels of the earth ! But in vain shall they cry to the 
mountains and rocks, c Fall on us, and hide us from 
the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the 
wrath of the Lamb '. y u Every eye shall see 99 the J udge ; 
and then shall be brought to pass that which is written, 
rt Because 1 called, and ye refused ; I stretched out my 
hand, and no man regarded ; ye have set at nought all 
my counsel, and would none of my reproof ; I also will 
laugh at your calamity ; 1 will mock when your fear 
cometh — when your fear cometh as desolation, and your 
destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and 
anguish come upon you." 

Consider this ye " stout-hearted/' what a fearful thing 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



225 



it is, to go out of this world, ignorant of the next, — to 
take blindfold a step which can never be retracted ! 
And if you might have known of the things which be- 
long to your peace, and would not ; — might have at- 
tended the public instruction of the ministry, and would 
not, — might have been told of the way of salvation, and 
would not hearken, — how greatly will your guilt be 
aggravated ! If they who knew not their Lord's will, 
shall be punished, what shall be done to them who re- 
fused to know his will — who despised his authority ! If 
they shall be judged, who had no law, what shall be 
the end of those who have the law, but heed it not ; 
who have the will of God declared to them, but set it 
at nought ! Precious as is the blood of Christ, it will 
not be sprinkled on those, who wilfully and obstinately 
persist unto the end, in their rebellion against God! 
Powerful as is the mediation, prevalent as is the inter- 
cession of Christ, they will be of no avail to those who 
die impenitent ! 

But a deficiency of self-knowledge is not confined to 
those only, who are ignorant of their own character as 
sinners, there are many persons who have attained to 
such a knowledge of themselves, as to perceive that 
they fall under the condemnation of the law of God, in 
very many instances. They are not sufficiently acquaint- 
ed with the spiritual nature of the Divine law, to dis- 
cover that they are unable to fulfil its requirements, 
which are " holy, just, and good," and are therefore 
cut off from all pretensions to salvation by the works of 
the law ; nor are they sufficiently acquainted with their 
own hearts, to be convinced that in them " dwelleth no 
good thing," — that they are " very far gone from ori« 
ginal righteousness, and are of their own nature in- 
clined to evil;" yet they are so far convinced of sin, as 
to be desirous of obtaining pardon 3 but they do not 

2 G 



226 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



seek it in the way in which it is offered in the Scriptures : 
they are so far aware of the deficiencies with which they 
are chargeable, that they endeavour to ] rocure a righte- 
ousness to justify themselves, but not that "righteousness 
which is of God.' 5 

Repentance is a duty of universal obligation, be- 
cause " all have sinned, and come short of the glory of 
God ;" but the self-righteous exalt repentance into the 
place which Christ should hold in their hearts. They 
mistake the conditions of salvation, for the cause and 
purchase ; and those religious services, which are only 
tiie means of grace, they use as mediators, by which 
the favour of God is to be procured. They are so little 
acquainted with the nature of the finished work of Christ, 
that they regard it rather as the means by which 
God is made willing to be reconciled, than as the 
sole purchase of a complete reconciliation. All that 
Christ has done, is in their estimation, to put men in a 
way of being saved by their own duties and efforts ; 
they do not trust in Him, as that Redeemer whose blood 
w as shed to atone for their sins, and to procure their 
pardon; whose perfect obedience was necessary to jus- 
tify them before God; whose continual intercession ren- 
ders their prayers and praises acceptable to God, and 
dispenses all their blessings ; and whose Spirit alone can 
renew their hearts, produce faith in their souls, enable 
them to show forth good works, and prepare them for 
the enjoyment of the heavenly glory. 

Men are naturally prone to self-righteousness. The 
first covenant is so rooted in the nature of man, that he 
must be taught of God, and spiritually renewed, before 
he will submit to, and cordially embrace the Covenant 
of Grace. The law is written in the heart of man with 
indelible characters. Aware that at his first creation, 
he had power to obey his Maker with perfect obedience, 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



227 



man still cleaves to the same method of acceptance with 
God. Till he is divinely illuminated, he does not per- 
ceive that the law is binding on his conscience, and 
takes cognizance of the secrets of the heart; that no 
obedience can be accepted by God, unless it be perfect, 
and that the law makes no provision for the smallest 
offence ; for u whosoever shall keep the whole law, and 
yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." The least 
violation of its commands, even an obliquity of the will, 
brings the offender under its heavy denunciations, and 
precludes for ever the possibility of salvation by works. 
Its terms are most extensive, and its sentence irreversi- 
ble ; " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things, which are written in the book of the law to do 
them." 

When a sinner is first convinced of sin, he generally 
u goes about to establish his own righteousness, being 
ignorant of the righteousness of God." So when the 
man in the Gospel came to our Lord for directions how 
to be saved, he came as one who was in earnest about 
the salvation of his soul, for we read that he came run- 
ning; but the sequel shows it was in a self-righteous 
spirit that he made the application, when he said, 
"What shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life." 
He thought himself able to observe perfectly the com- 
mands of God; for when Jesus rehearsed the duties of 
the second table [of the law, he professed to have ob- 
served all these from his youth ; but notwithstanding 
all his boasting, he had not yet learned self-denial ; and 
therefore our Lord, who " needed not that any should 
testify of man, for he knew what was in man," seeing 
the undiscovered evil that lurked in his heart, and that 
covetousness was his besetting sin, charged him to sell 
all his possessions, and give alms unto the poor, and 
take up his cross and follow him ; " And he was sad at 



228 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



that saying, and went away grieved." Lacking this 
one thing, he was destitute of all ; having failed in one 
point, he forfeited all claim to a righteousness of his 
own procuring. Again, when the Jews asked Jesus in 
the same spirit what they should do, that they might 
"work the works of God," Jesus said unto them, "This 
is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he 
hath sent." 

Indeed the whole design of Scripture is to show us 
our real condition, and to discover to us the wise and 
merciful provision, which God has made to meet all our 
wants and necessities. The whole plan of redemption 
is contrary to the wisdom of man ; God has there con- 
founded "the wisdom of the wise," and brought "to 
nothing the understanding of the prudent." All the 
doctrines of the Gospel tend to humility ; and the doc- 
trine of the Cross is most humbling. The proud and 
self-righteous Pharisee, who is wise in his own conceit, 
is offended at the self-denying and abasing terms of the 
Gospel ; he wishes to retain his fancied works, and 
thinks to recommend himself to God by his supposed 
holiness. But he will never attain to the favour of God, 
till he has laid aside all boasting, and has learned to 
account those things, which he once highly esteemed, 
as vile and as loss, that he may 66 win Christ, and be 
found in him, not having his own righteousness which 
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of 
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." 
It is hard for him to renounce those false reliances, on 
which he had built all his fond hopes of salvation ; he 
cleaves to his own deeds as the ground of acceptance 
with God, and listens not to, or does not understand 
what is addressed to him by the Faithful and True 
Witness, " Thou say est, 6 1 am rich and increased with 
goods, and have need of nothing,' and knowest not 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



229 



that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and 
blind, and naked." 

The endeavours of the self-righteous to procure their 
own salvation, will be fruitless to themselves, and they 
tend also to rob God of his honour. Grace is the golden 
thread, that runs through the whole tissue of the work 
of human redemption ; but the self-righteous sully its 
beauty, by covering it with the dross of their own sup- 
posed merits. He that seeks salvation by the works of 
the law ; that is, he that aims either partially or wholly, 
at being his own Saviour, is doubly accursed; first, 
for his presumption, " Cursed be the man that maketh 
flesh his arm ;" and secondly for failing in his under- 
taking, "As many as are of the works of the law, are 
under the curse ;" that is, they are subject to the con- 
ditions of the first covenant, which required perfect 
obedience, and condemned all who fell short of it in 
the smallest degree. 

Besides, " if righteousness come by the law, then is 
Christ dead in vain." If man could save himself, why 
was his redemption purchased at the amazing expense 
of the blood of the Son of God ! He that seeks to save 
himself, does in a manner pronounce the wisdom of 
God to be foolishness, in planning the work of redemp- 
tion ; and the power of God to be weakness, in execu- 
ting that work ! Mark then, the impiety, the blasphe- 
my, as well as the folly of self- righteousness. 

A man may be so far impressed with a sense of the 
importance of religion, as to attend to the outward ser- 
vices of it with exactness. The power of natural con- 
science may influence him so far, that he may be 
blameless as to the " form of godliness," but remain 
destitute of its power. Being deeply convinced of the 
value of the soul, and the solemnity of an unseen eter- 
nity, he may join himself to the people of God, and « 



230 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



become an outward member of Christ's visible church on 
earth ; but though in the sheep-fold, he hath not enter- 
ed by Christ the door, he hath come in by some other 
way. He may even exceed many sincere believers in ex- 
ternal morality, but his heart is unenlightened ; all that he 
does, which is in itself good, proceeds from a wrong 
motive, and he has a wrong aim in view constantly ; so 
that the nature of his works is changed, and instead of 
being well-pleasing in the sight of God, as the fruits of 
faith, they become an abomination, because they are 
intended to derogate from the glory of the redemption 
which is by Christ Jesus. Sanctiflcation does not con- 
sist in a mere attendance on the outward services of re- 
ligion — the public worship of God's house. These things 
do not profit by themselves ; they do not impart any 
holiness to those who engage in them : but on the con- 
trary, if they touch them with unhallowed hands, or 
take them on feigned lips, they contaminate and pollute 
them. The backsliding Jews of old, fell into this error^ 
of substituting the form for the power of godliness, — of 
putting the attendance on holy duties, in the place of 
holiness of heart and conduct. That which is good in 
itself, cannot make another so, without the aid of Divine 
influence ; and therefore a formal and strict attendance 
on the mere profession of religion, can neither justify 
nor sanctify ; but on the contrary, those who are un- 
clean and impure in heart and practice, defile these 
good and holy things. u Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, 
Ask now the Priests concerning the law, saying, If one 
bear holy flesh in the skirts of his garment, and with his 
skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any 
meat, shall it be holy ? And the Priest answered and 
said, No. — If one that is unclean, touch any of these, 
shall it be unclean ? And the Priest answered and said, 
it shall be unclean. — So is this people and so is this nation . 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



231 



before me, saith the Lord and so is every work of their 
hands, and that which they offer is unclean." 

As self-knowledge leads to humility, so the want of 
it makes men proud and conceited. Pride is at the root 
of all evil in the human heart ; and as the heart of the 
self-righteous man is unrenewed, pride reigns there in 
all its strength. " Learn of me," is a lesson of our Lord's 
which he has never received. Puffed up with pride, on 
account of imaginary attainments, he looks down on 
others with contempt. Like the Pharisee of old, he 
trusts in himself that he is righteous, and despises others ; 
like him too he gives God thanks that he is not as other 
men are, and vauntingly enumerates the long catalogue 
of his outward services, and on these he builds his self- 
conceit, and his contempt of other men. 

"By the grace of God, I am what I am," said the 
eminent Apostle Paul. He ascribed every thing in his 
character that was conformable to the Divine Will, to 
the u Father of Lights," from whom alone cometh "ev- 
ery good and perfect gift." Not so the self-righteous ; 
he " sacrifices unto his own net, and burns incense unto 
his own drag * " he saith with respect to his obedience, 
his religious services, his alms, £ Are not all these the 
work of my own hands ? ' He does not stand on the same 
ground as the humble christian, and therefore he dis- 
dains him j he has no feelings in common with him ; he 
partakes in no manner of the same spirit; he never 
knew what it is to have a broken and contrite heart, and 
to cry out from deep humiliation of soul, "God be mer- 
ciful to me a sinner." 

Humility is a grace which he knows not how to feign ; 
he does not understand its nature, having never felt its 
operation : it is a temper of mind far beyond his mark, 
— it is the mind of Christ, and the eminent work of the 
Holy Spirit in the souls of the regenerate^ and therefore 



232 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



is not among his catalogue of virtues. He has in- 
deed a pretended humility, which consists in words 
only ; he will call himself a " miserable offender/ ' and 
say 44 there is no health" in him, but in his heart he 
thinketh far otherwise. Even in his acknowledgements 
of dependance on God, pride discovers itself ; as in the 
case of the Pharisee before-mentioned, he will thank 
God for the good which he fancies to be in himself, but 
then he subjoins to this professed thankfulness, the 
proud self-gratulation, that he is c< not as other men 
are." 

He is loud in condemning any that have fallen through 
the power of temptation, and delights to proclaim a- 
broad the failings of his neighbour, that the eyes of 
men may be turned to his own superior sanctity. Proud 
of his own imaginary strength and integrity, he knows 
not how to make that allowance for the trespasses of 
others, which a feeling of common weakness and infir- 
mity, and a liability to the same temptations should 
teach him to make. Christians are commanded to re- 
store any one who is overtaken by a fault, considering 
themselves, lest they also be tempted; but as the self- 
righteous man is a stranger to that struggle between the 
flesh and the spirit, which is maintained in the hearts 
of all that have received the renewing and sanctifying 
influence of the Holy Ghost, he fancies himself able to 
overcome any trial, and withstand any seducement to 
sin. Elated with this self-confidence, he unfeelingly 
publishes abroad his brother's offences, joins in the per- 
secuting laugh and sneer, and points the finger of scorn 
and contempt. He says to his offending brother, 
" Stand by thyself ; come not near to me, for I am ho- 
lier than thou." 

This spirit is more common than may at first be ima- 
gined. In fact we can scarcely converse with any one 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



233 



on the character of others, but some failing will be no- 
ticed, either to bring them down to the level of our own 
character, or in a way which evidently shows, that the 
reprover considers himself free from a similar charge, 
and wishes to be so esteemed. What heart is not con- 
scious of this failing in some degree ? Just as in the 
case of the decease of any person in the neighbourhood, 
all are ready to assign some peculiar reason for his dis- 
solution ; some disease is named, from which they ac- 
count themselves exempt ; some family [complaint is 
mentioned as the cause ; or it is attributed to a particu- 
larly dangerous occupation, or to an injurious course of 
life ; and whatever cause is assigned, the intention is too 
apparent, namely — a willingness to conceal from them- 
selves their own mortality, and vainly to presume that 
they shall not fall by a similar calamity. One boasts 
of his good constitution ; another tells us of the long 
life of his ancestors ; some recount the precautions which 
they take against disease ; others rely on their temper- 
ance, or healthful occupation. So in cases of the faults 
and sins of others, they are mentioned with a secret in- 
tention of asserting our own innocence, as to the parti- 
cular delinquency spoken of ; the weakness of others is 
introduced to set off our own supposed strength ; and 
even while we enumerate the faults of others, without 
any addition of censure, there is a secret comparison 
drawn in our minds, betweem them and ourselves ; and 
pride, that corrupt principle of our depraved nature, 
enjoys a close gratification in the persuasion that we are 
not surpassed by others. 

The self-righteous person is confident. He feels no 
misgivings of heart, lest he should at last fall short of 
the heavenly rest. He has no anxious doubts and fears 
concerning the genuineness of his faith, and the sincer- 
ity of his repentance, or whether his love bears the marks 

2 ii 



234 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



of that heavenly grace, as they are set down by the 
Apostle. Self-conceit prevents reflection, and blinds 
him to the error of his ways, and self-will leads him for- 
ward in the road to destruction. Did he consider his 
waj/s, it would be the first step towards conviction and 
reformation. A suspicion that something might be 
wrong, would lead him to say, " What have I done ? " 
— " I thought on my ways," says David, u and turn- 
ed my feet unto thy testimonies." 

Again, he is offended at the humbling doctrines of 
the Bible. The fall, and consequent depravity of man, 
the utter wickedness of the human heart, the inability 
of man to restore himself to the lost favour of God, the 
doctrine of salvation by free-grace, and the necessity of 
the teaching of the Holy Spirit, though so plainly de- 
clared in Scripture, are so many stumbling-blocks to 
his pride. " Lord, what is man, that thou takest know- 
ledge of him," is a reflection that never entered his 
mind. He thinks much of what he calls the dignity 
of human nature, and he is highly offended with the 
faithful minister of the Gospel, who, disregarding the 
pride of man insists on the plain statements of the Bible, 
and grounds all that he advances on the Word of Eter- 
nal Truth. When such a minister declares in the lan- 
guage of Scripture, "There is none righteous, no not 
one, they are all gone out of the way," the self-righteous 
man replieth in his heart, " I am clean without trans- 
gression ; I am innocent, neither is there iniquity in me." 
When the preacher insists in the words of the prophet, 
that " the heart is deceitful above all things and despe- 
rately wicked," he replies, " thou speakest falsely ; the 
Lord our God hath not sent thee to say" thus and thus. 
When he hears it advanced that " we are all as an un- 
clean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy 
rags," he thinks within himself that he is righteous, and 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



235 



saith, " I have made my heart clean, I am pure from 
my sin ;" I have whereof I may trust in the flesh. 

But what will be the end of self-righteous delusions? 
Not to be at all convinced of sin, and to seek salvation 
by a false way — by our own works or deservings, will 
have the same fatal termination. By the former, the 
victim of carelessness is prevented from seeking deliver- 
ance ; by the latter the deluded Pharisee is led to seek 
it in a way in which it can never be found, a way which 
adds to his former guilt, and seals his perdition. We 
will suppose that the self-righteous person has succeed- 
ed in establishing a righteousness, which he presumes 
will abide the trial of God's just judgment; the veil 
which has concealed his real character from himself, has 
been so nicely woven, and so exactly adapted, that the 
light of truth has not penetrated through it to reach his 
heart. He dies. Where is now his hope ? At the bar 
of God his mask falls from him ; he appears without 
disguise before Him that trieth the reins. " Terrors 
take hold on him as waters ; — for God shall cast upon 
him and not spare." He was proud and self- conceited 
on earth ; therefore he shall not be " hid in the day of 
the Lord's anger." He shot bitter words as arrows, 
against his brother, who fell in the hour of temptation ; 
he spared not, but was merciless, therefore God shall 
judge him out of his own mouth, and shall reward him 
even as he hath dealt to others, even double unto him, 
according to his w orks. His pretended fear of God was 
" taught by the precept of men ; " his "sacrifices multi- 
plied his transgressions ; he was " stout-hearted," and 
without all fear as to the issue of his ways ; therefore 
will God " come near to him to judgment," and c< be a 
swift witness against" him. He made his forehead <c as 
an adamant, harder than flint," but now he shall be 
ashamed of his former boastings and dependance ; be 



236 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE, 



shall be utterly confounded, yea, be shall sink into 
6C everlasting contempt." His self-righteous spirit was 
offended at the humbling doctrines of the Gospel ; and 
now shall he be judged according to his own works, and 
will be found far from righteousness. He rejected a 
free salvation offered by the grace and mercy of God, 
and now, " He that made him, will not have mercy on 
him, and he that formed him will show him no favour." 

The worst of all delusions, however, because the 
most injurious, arising from a want of self-knowledge, 
is the u lying spirit 99 which enters into the hearts of some 
persons, persuading them that they are the peculiar fa- 
vourites of heaven, because they have adopted certain 
doctrines into their religious creed ; and that they shall 
assuredly reach heaven at last, by virtue of the sure de- 
crees of God, although their conduct is such as to show 
too plainly, that they have no fear of God before their 
eyes. They have renounced all hope of salvation by the 
works of the law ; but they have also renounced all mor- 
al obligation ; they speak of Jesus as the only Saviour, 
but in their lives, they are "the enemies of the Cross of 
Christ." Their only inquiry respecting the religious 
character of others is, 4 What are their opinions ? ' Our 
Lord has said, ftf By their fruits ye shall know them ; " 
but these persons, as if more acquainted with the human 
heart, consider such a test as indecisive. They speak 
of others, whose conduct and conversation are becoming 
the Gospel, as possessing the mere shell of morality if 
their creed do not exactly correspond with the system, 
which they have laid down as the only orthodox faith. 
Every deviation, however small, from this system, is 
by them accounted a mark of reprobation. They have 
a vocabulary current among them, and whosoever fails 
in the due pronunciation of their c< Shibboleth," is re- 
garded as under spiritual darkness. — All places are to 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



237 



them alike fit for the discussion of religious subjects, 
you may hear them reasoning high of 

"Fix'd fate, free-will, fore-knowledge absolute," 

in the market, at the inn, amidst the noise and clamour 
of business, or the songs and profane mirth of the drunk- 
ard. The liberty wherewith Christ hath made the 
christian free, they esteem a permission to follow the 
suggestions of a depraved heart. Accordingly they re- 
frain not their lips from evil, nor their hands from deeds 
of violence ; and yet they account themselves the exclu- 
sive favourites of heaven, because they profess to mag- 
nify and exalt the grace of God, while they are in fact 
insulting his mercy and long-suffering. Conscious that 
they are deficient in that personal holiness, which the 
Word of God requires in all the faithful followers of 
Christ, they fly to the notion of imputed sanctification, 
and make this a part of the work of Christ for them, 
instead of the work of the Holy Spirit in them. 

They listen to the instructions of the pulpit, to as- 
certain in what rank the minister may be classed, whe- 
ther among the darkling slaves of legal bondage, or 
among the great preachers of sound, enlightened doc- 
trine. They approve of a preacher who will establish 
them in their notions, rather than induce them to think 
soberly of themselves, and examine their hearts with 
godly jealousy, — one who condemns with an unsparing 
sentence, nearly all other labourers in the ministry, or 
slily insinuates that the number of truly evangelical 
preachers, amounts to only two or three, at most, in- 
cluding himself, — one who is merry in the pulpit, and 
deals in conceits and jests, and with daring judgment 
consigns at least ninety- nine parts of mankind out of a 
hundred, to everlasting perdition; while with bold ef- 
frontery, he congratulates himself and his partizans, on 



238 



OX SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



being of the small number that shall be savedr To 
meet the approbation of such hearers, a preacher must 
give partial statements of Divine Truth ; he must con- 
fine himself to a few doctrines, but never allude to a 
holy life; he must preach faith without works, and works 
never : he must introduce fanciful interpretations of 
scriptural language, and, under pretence of spiritual- 
izing every subject, make the strangest and most per- 
verted application of detached portions of the ceremo- 
nial, historical, or genealogical parts of the Bible. He 
must so speak of the final perseverance of the saints, 
that his followers may assure themselves of being of the 
number ; but he must avoid making any allusions to the 
cautions of Scripture against self-deception : and more 
especially must he carefully suppress those salutary ad- 
monitions, which relate to drawing back unto perdition, 
falling away, and turning from the holy commandment. 
And when he speaks of the final judgment, he must 
confine himself to the gathering together of the elect, 
the making up of the jewels of the Lord, &c. and by 
no means mention the rule by which the decisions of the 
Great Day will be guided, although Christ has himself 
assured us that all men shall be judged "according to 
their works," and shall i; receive the things done in the 
body, whether they be good or bad." His grand object 
must be to persuade his hearers to believe that they are 
elected to eternal life, and may therefore be at ease in 
Zion ; that they are chosen to salvation, and may there- 
fore leave all concern about the matter, and be at rest. 
He must tell them plainly that there is one law for them, 
and another for those whom they term the reprobate ; 
or rather that the non-elect are under the yoke of the 
law, and every obligation to holy obedience, (which 
nevertheless they cannot fulfil) but that themselves are 
the privileged children and heirs, aud are therefore free 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



239 



from all restraint, and at liberty to live as they please, 
being secure in their irreversible title to the heavenly 
inheritance ! 

These persons charge all their sin on Satan, or on the 
a old man" which abidetli in them, and thus excuse 
themselves from all responsibility ; not considering that 
Satan can only tempt, and not force us to commit sin ; 
and that it requires a considerable degree of attainment 
in self-knowledge, to be able to distinguish between the 
remains of in-dwelling sin, and the fruits of sin still 
having dominion over us, so as to affirm with spiritual 
discernment, " It is no more I that do it, but sin that 
dwelleth in me." To charge our transgressions on causes 
over which we have no control, and so to renounce our 
accountableness to God, is the way to abolish all godly 
sorrow for sin, and to substitute an exoneration of our- 
selves from blame, for true repentance. And there 
cannot be a more blasphemous perversion of a glorious 
truth, than to think lightly of sin, because " the blood 
of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin;" and, because 
his atonement included every transgression, not to care 
how many we add to the number ! 

We should be ever on our guard against the delusion 
of receiving the consolations of the Scripture, without 
an inquiry whether we possess the evidences of being 
the characters, to whom these consolations are addressed. 
The call of the Gospel to repentance and faith is general, 
it is made to all ; but the precious promises of the Gospel 
are addressed to particular characters. All are invited 
to come to Jesus, but it is only those who do come with 
repentance, and humility, and earnest desires, that are 
accepted. All are commanded to believe, but it is only 
to those who do believe, that Christ is truly precious. 
He is the life ; but it is only to those who are renewed 
by his Spirit, and who put all their trust in Him, 



240 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



Many mistake their own characters ; they misinterpret 
the Scriptures, and misapply the promises. They take 
to themselves that consolation, for the appropriation of 
which they have no evidence — no warrant. They mis- 
take their deadness and indifference, for the u peace of 
God which passeth all understanding." They mistake 
their presumption, for the faith which is "of the oper- 
ation of God and their groundless confidence, for a 
" good hope through grace." They stifle the voice of 
conscience, crying, " Peace, peace," till " sudden de- 
struction cometh upon them ;" and thus they flatter and 
deceive themselves, till in eternity their eyes are opened 
only to wonder and perish ! 

We are exposed to danger on all sides, because of 
the corruption and depravity of our hearts. When we 
hear of salvation by grace, we are prone to fall into 
that most awful perversion and abuse of Divine mercy, 
to continue in sin "that grace may abound," or the 
equally dangerous error, of indulging in sin because 
grace abounds, making that an inducement or encou- 
ragement to evil, which should be the most powerful 
motive to urge us to follow after holiness, and to hate 
all sin. Again, when we read that the decisions of the 
judgment-day will be given according to the works of 
men, we are exposed to the fatal error of self-righte- 
ousness. The Word of God must be read, not in de- 
tached parts, but as one connected whole; for "no 
prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." 
If we read the Bible carefully we shall find that decla- 
rations of grace, and cautions against sin, are ever joined 
together. Every command implies a promise ; and ev- 
ery promise is connected in its accomplishment with the 
observance of a command. We are commanded to 
" work out our salvation with fear and trembling," but 
the gracious assurance is added, that it is " God that 



Ott SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 24l 



worketh in us, both to will and to do of his good plea- 
sure." All the exceedingly great and precious promises 
of the Gospel, are made to corresponding dispositions 
of mind. Pardon is offered, but only to the penitent ; 
the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting, but 
only on them that fear him ; grace is given, but only to the 
humble ; advantage shall result from every event, whe- 
ther afflictive or joyous, but only to those that love God ; 
everlasting life, and a crown of glory are promised, but 
only to those that believe and endure unto the end, be- 
ing faithful unto death. 

The Word of God is full of the plainest declarations, 
that pardon of sin can be obtained only through the 
" blood of sprinkling" — the "blood of the everlasting 
covenant " — the "blood of Jesus Christ," and that jus- 
tification can be procured only by the imputation of 
the " righteousness of God ; " that ff there is none other 
name under heaven given among men whereby we must 
be saved," but the name of Jesus ; and that "he that believ- 
eth not the Son shall not see life." But the same Scriptures 
also inform us, that " without holiness no man shall see 
the Lord;" and the people of God are called "tjie; 
people of his holiness;" and numberless are the ex- 
hortations of the apostles to obedience, to sanctificatiqn, 
to the renunciation of the very appearance of evil, to 
the pursuit of every thing that is " true, honest, just, 
pure, lovely, and of good report." If we are called, 
it is "with a holy calling;" and Jesus is a Saviour 
from sin. If he died to procure the pardon of all our 
sins, and to purchase heaven for us, he died also " that 
he might redeem us from all iniquity" — from the world, 
the flesh, and the devil, and "purify unto himself a 
peculiar people, zealous of good works." 

Though we are not under the law, as was Adam at 
his first creation, yet we are not " without law unto God"- 

2i 



242 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



All its requirements are binding upon us, as a rule of 
life. The law is to be fulfilled in us, by the commu- 
nication of the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit, 
that holiness may be perfecting in us progressively while 
on the earth, to prepare us for the perfection of our 
sanctification in heaven. Christ " came by water and 
blood," to signify the necessity of sanctification, as well 
as of pardon and justification. The Scriptures afford 
not the smallest encouragement to any, to expect sal- 
vation without personal holiness. A hope that is in- 
dulged without this indispensable requisite, is a false 
bope ; for he that hath the true " hope in him, purifieth 
himself, even as he is pure." Faith is dead, unless 
there be added to it " virtue, knowledge, temperance, 
patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity." The 
promises are given, not to encourage us in carelessness 
of conversation, but that by them we " might be parta- 
kers of the Divine nature, having escaped the corrup- 
tion that is in the world, through lust." " The objects of 
faith revealed, are not merely speculative, to be con- 
ceived, and believed only, as true, or to be gazed on in 
an ecstasy of wonder, but are mysteries of godliness 
that have a powerful influence on practice." 

In conclusion, be it remembered that we need not re- 
main ignorant of our true character, while we have the 
test of Holy Scripture, whereby to try and examine our- 
selves. We may ascertain whose we are, by consider- 
ing whom we serve. iC Know ye not that to whom ye 
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to 
whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedi- 
ence unto righteousness ? " We may know whether the 
path in which we are proceeding, will lead to u indig- 
nation, and wrath, tribulation, and anguish," or to 
a glory, honour, and peace," if we consider our ways, 
and listen to the voice of conscience. If we are living 



ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



243 



in habitual forgetfulness of God, we cannot claim his 
protection and blessing, as our Father and Friend. If 
our lives are not conformable to his Holy Word, we 
may say that we hope to go to heaven at last, but there 
is no good foundation for such an expectation. And 
indeed the manner in which this hope is mentioned by 
many persons, proves that they have no desire for hea- 
ven on its own account, but merely a preference for 
such a termination to their worldly career, because they 
are certain that the alternative is hell. They look for- 
ward to it with the same sort of apathy, with which they 
end ure the occasional service of God upon earth. 

« By grace we are saved through faith," but the gen- 
uineness of that faith will be determined by its fruits ; 
and the day of judgment will finally decide, and eter- 
nally separate, between those who draw nigh to God 
only with their lips, while their hearts are far from Him, 
and those who worship Him "in spirit and in truth — 
between the hearers and the doers of the word ; — " be- 
tween the righteous and the wicked ; — between him that 
serveth God, and him that serveth him not." Then 
shall the true characters of men be thoroughly ascertained 
by themselves, and disclosed to others ; — not to give 
them longer space for repentance — not to allow them 
another state of probation — not to offer them the assist- 
ance and teaching of the Divine Spirit, but to pronounce 
the final sentence of the Judgment, according to the 
state in which death dismissed each individual into the 
world of Spirits ! 

Men may delude themselves by vainly supposing, 
that if they hide the worst of their situation and charac- 
ter from themselves, they shall escape condemnation. 
Many are desirous on this false principle, to remain ig- 
norant of spiritual things, and of their own character, 
vainly supposing that the less they are informed on 



244 ON SELF-KNOWLEDGE. 



these points, the less they shall have to answer for to 
God. But this kind of concealment will only aggravate 
their guilt, and increase their horror and amazement, 
cc in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men 
by Jesus Christ. " For God shall bring every work 
into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be 
good, or whether it be evil." 



FINIS. 



PRINTED BY M. SMITH, BRAINTREE. 



PAGE 1 line 2 from the bottom, for commuications read 

communications, 
— 2 — 7 ■ for witout, read without* 

■ " 62 — 6 ■ for docritne, read doctrine. 

107 «— 13 ■ for voiecs, read voices* 





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